Flames of Regret
by SuperPieFanFictions
Summary: In the midst of training for the S Class Exams, Natsu goes on the spur of the moment and invites Lisanna on a job. But when the trip take a turn for the worse, and two Fairies go missing, Team Natsu must jump into action. I Do Not Own Fairy Tail. All Right Belong To Their Respective Owners. /Project Terminated/
1. Introduction

Welcome to the first chapter, Fandom! I'd like to warn you that the title really won't be relevant until later on, but I liked the name "Flames of Regret". Just... has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Anyway, here's Chapter 1! Enjoy.

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**Chapter 1 - Introduction**

It was another joyous, cheerful day at the guild, just like any other. Everybody was rowdy and having a good time drinking and partying, and just being the guild known as… Fairy Tail.

Mirajane, Lisanna, Laki, and Kinana were busy serving refills and food to all the people that were carrying on. Cana was shouting about not having enough to drink, although she had just thrown her third barrel of booze down onto the floor. Elfman was shouting 'man' at the top of his lungs. And Nab was standing in front of the request board, trying to decide what job to take.

"Come on, Nab. Pick something already!" Jet of Team Shadow Gear was behind him, trying to see some of the jobs he could go out on with Droy and Levy. "Nobody else can see the board!"

"I'm trying to see which one appeals to me the most." Nab, of course, used the same excuse he always did.

"If you're that picky, you'll never get picked to go on the S Class exam." Jet pushed his way passed Nab and grabbed the first job he saw. "Levy! Droy! I got a job to do!" He showed Mirajane the job poster and she Okayed it, so he, Levy, and Droy set out on their next job. And just as they left, two of the most well-known Fairy Tail wizards stepped through the door.

"Oh man." Natsu sighed. "I can't believe you took that job from me." He walked in, slouched over with his arms hanging to the ground. Meanwhile, Grey walked in right behind him with his hands in his pockets, looking very content with what he had accomplished on his trip.

"You snooze you lose." Natsu had, once again, failed to overcome his problem of riding trains, or anything that was considered transportation, so he failed to get to the employer of a certain job before Grey found the same job. "Maybe you should've walked." In a split second, Natsu had planted his forehead firmly against Grey's.

"What did you say, you droopy eyed pervert?"

"Who you callin a pervert, slanted eyes?" _Grey_ had, once again, stripped down to his boxers without even noticing that he had done it.

"He's rye-aught, Grey." Cana's speech was slurred as she began to down her _fifth_ barrel of booze. "You're half neked again." This made Grey look down in alarm at his body, which was only covered by a pair of boxers.

"Whoa! When did that happen!?" Meanwhile, Juvia was standing behind one of the poles on the raised part of the guild hall floor, blushing.

"Oh, Grey-sama…" She placed one hand over her mouth and stared at Grey's exposed chest, much like she always did.

"Natsu-san, if you want I can go with you to the train station next time and cast a Troia before you board." Wendy walked towards the entrance from the bar counter where she had been standing.

Unfortunately, Natsu was already pushing Nab out of the way of the Request Board trying to find another job before Grey could go out on another one. The very second he found one that looked easy, he grabbed it from the board and shouted to Mirajane.

"Hey, Mira! I'm going out on this job!" Without waiting for Mira to okay it, he ran out the door.

"Wait, Natsu! If I don't keep a proper record, someone else might take the same job!" Natsu was already out the door before she could even say it. "Oh my…"

A lot of the Fairy Tail wizards were excited about the S Class exam that was coming up soon, and the ones that weren't were perfectly fine relaxing and partying with their fellow Guild Members. One of the formers, however, was definitely Natsu. He couldn't wait for the exam to start, so he passed the time by going on every job that he could, hoping that he would get picked this year. If he could succeed, he would finally be a top ranking wizard like Erza and Gildarts. And Laxus…

"Oh, man. This is going to be great!" He could barely contain his excitement as he ran outside the walls of the Guild Hall. But turning outside of the walls to go down the road which led to the train station, Natsu met an unexpected greeting.

"Oh hi, Natsu. Going out on another job?" Lisanna stood there smiling at him with her big smile that she always seemed to have. It was a smile that sent Natsu into a small panic every time he saw it.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Some groups of monsters have started dwelling in the woods near a rich man's mansion, and he wants them exterminated as fast as possible."

"You've been going out on so many jobs recently. I'm sure you'll get picked for the exam if you keep it up!" She gave a different kind of smile, one that was reassuring and filled with kindness and joy. This one calmed Natsu down a little bit. But not enough.

"Yeah, well I have to get going, Lisanna." He ran passed her without another word, running down towards the train station. _'Maybe I should…'_ He looked back at her, and she had already turned around to go up to the gate of Fairy Tail.

Natsu had a thought. It was a very random thought, but one that he seriously contemplated. Not that he knew what contemplated meant, but let's just continue with the story. He was giving what had just popped into his head some serious thought, but Lisanna was already headed to the gate, and soon he'd look even stupider than he already would have.

After about ten or so seconds of debating with himself, he finally made up his mind. He started to run back to the gates and ran back up to Lisanna. Before she could even turn around to see what the noise was, he grabbed her hand and starting pulling her down the street.

"Hey, wait! Natsu!" She laughed as she ran behind him, her hand in his. "What are you doing?"

"Just come with me. Trust me, you'll have fun." He kept pulling her down the street, taking her to the train station so that she could go on the job with him. He wasn't sure why he felt like he wanted her to come, but he felt like it was the right thing to do. _'I just hope I know what I'm doing.'_ He was quite sure that he didn't.

He pulled her right along behind him the whole time, even when she agreed to come along willingly. He didn't let go of her hand until they had successfully made it to the station and bought two tickets for the next train headed in the direction they were going in. And when they were finally at the platform waiting for the train, he let her go.

"Jeez, Natsu. You didn't have to pull me all the way here. I said I'd go with you." She laughed a little bit and smiled at whatever gesture he was trying to make. Whatever it was, she just felt happy to spend some time with him. They hadn't been together at all since she finally came back to him. So she was glad that he invited her.

"Sorry, guess I got a little carried away." He tried to laugh a little bit too, but was worrying too much about what he had just done. Because he actually did _not_ know what he was doing. Not at all.

He could tell that she didn't mind coming along with him, in fact he even figured that she was happy to go, but that didn't make it any less awkward. He knew as well as she did that they hadn't spent any sizeable amount of time together since the incident in Edolas, so he felt a great deal of tension. He wasn't sure if she felt the same way, and that only made it worse.

When the train arrived, they both boarded and took their seats. They sat like normal, with Natsu on one bench, and Lisanna on the bench opposite of his. Seeing him so willingly board a train made her a little nervous.

"Natsu… are you going to be okay?" Her question was answered for her as soon as the train started moving. Without any hesitation at all, Natsu was almost falling out of his seat, half drooling on himself, and had his very soul coming out of his mouth. "I guess… not."

"N- no…" He tried talking, but he wasn't doing so well. "I'll be… fine. Pwomise." Despite what he said, Lisanna still worried.

"No, Natsu. Hang on." She stood up and sat next to him, and then gently layed his head onto her lap. "You've never been any good with transportation, so just rest for now, okay?"

"Otay…" Had Natsu not been nearing death and almost unconscious, she wouldn't have done what she was doing. Having Natsu's head in her lap would have been extremely embarrassing in any other situation. But it was okay for the moment.

And so they were on their way to the first job they would have ever done together as a team. Lisanna smiled at the thought and ran her hand through Natsu's silky pink hair.

_'A team, huh?'_

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So, if you've read any of my other stories, you'll find that I'm going in a different direction than usual. Instead of having it set in first person from the primary character's PoV, it's in constant third person. I figured that since Fairy Tail focuses on so many people's lives and pasts at once, I'd try to add that effect into this story. It will be my first time trying this as a constant, so I hope you'll forgive me if I don't seem to be at my best. Until Next Time~


	2. Does The Journey Beat The Destination?

Welcome back Fandom! As I scrolled through the list of Fairy Tail stories here on FanFiction, I noticed that _a lot_ of people update their own Fairy Tail stories quite often. And with so many up there, and so many being updated at the same time, it's hard to get your own story on the front page. However, despite this, you all still read my story! :D Up to almost 350 views in just the first couple of days, which is just absolutely fantastic! I'm glad I could impress you, or make you hate me because of how fail I am, but either way, you're reading! Anyway, enough babbling, onto Chapter 2. Enjoy.

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**Chapter Two: Does The Journey Beat The Destination?**

Lisanna and Natsu rode the train, heading to a small city out in the country side. The train continued along the track, moving right alongside a mountain to the right, and a beautiful, picturesque field to the left. It made Lisanna smile to see such a sight.

Natsu, however, did not see anything. He didn't even see the inside of the train. _He_ was nearly unconscious and lying down upon Lisanna's lap. But nevertheless, they continued on their journey together. Technically it was Natsu's journey, but he had decided to take Lisanna along with him.

Lisanna still wasn't sure what had prompted Natsu to take her along with him, and she didn't want to worry about it. Asking might have made him uncomfortable, and that was the last thing she wanted to do, especially on this trip.

After about another thirty minutes of trying to keep Natsu from falling into the floor, the train finally made it to the city of Fogsburg, where the two Fairy Tail wizards were supposed to get off.

The city was only about half the size of Magnolia, but was still just as beautiful. It was a little out of the way of where the mansion was, but it was still the closest stop. As they neared the station, Lisanna could see some very strange looking men walking off the platform, arriving at the city from a train that had arrived before her own.

One man wore a leather jacket with ripped off sleeves, and a blue pair of jeans. His hair was black, and was at least ten inches tall, with a large spike at the top. The second man was a bit shorter than the first, and had wavy red hair, and the same outfit. But the third one was the most suspicious.

He was taller than both of the first two, almost 8 feet tall. He was extremely well built, a lot like Elfman was. He had long, gray hair that had been put into dreadlocks, and walked with a staff that was almost as big as he was. Instead of the same attire as his two companions, he wore a large, black cloak that was lined with tan fur, black pants, and wore no shirt. He had bandages going up his mid-section, covering his muscles. He had the same type of bandages wrapped around his right hand, and going up his left arm. He had one, large, black tattoo that went around the length of his face. Something about the man wasn't quite right.

However, by the time the train that she and Natsu were on had gotten to the platform, the men were already gone. Since Natsu hadn't seen the men, Lisanna decided to just let it go and not tell him. After all, it might just make him worry. Although Natsu was never the type to worry about any minor details.

When the train's doors opened, Lisanna pushed Natsu back up into a sitting position and grabbed him by the scarf, since it seemed like the easiest option.

"Come… on! Natsu!" She struggled as she pulled the half dead boy to the door. "The train's not even… moving!" Natsu only made random noises that didn't have any meaning behind them, and any words he said were at random and didn't form sentences. She continued to tug on his scarf, trying to get him off the train. "If you don't… get off now… the train will…" Then, the scarf came loose. It unraveled itself from Natsu's neck just as she was about to make the final pull. However, it coming loose made her fall backwards. Right outside of the train. Just as the doors closed. "Eh?"

Still sitting down on the ground, holding Natsu's scarf in her hand, Lisanna watched as the doors of the train slid closed, leaving a drooling Natsu all alone upon the floor. And then it took off.

"AHH! NATSU!" The train started to move down the tracks again, taking the dazed Natsu along with it. "Not good, not good, not good!" Lisanna became frantic, pacing back and forth on the platform as she tried to think of something to do.

But in the end, she just stood there, the train already disappearing into the distance with her friend.

"Oh no…"

-Back in Magnolia-

The train made its stop at the city of Magnolia, and a certain Ice wizard of the Fairy Tail guild stepped on board. Little did he know, a certain other Fairy Tail wizard was close behind him, watching his every move.

"Grey-sama… How could you go on another job without Juvia?" Juvia sighed, and decided that this time she would go along with him even if he didn't want her to. And even if he didn't know she was going.

As Grey walked down the train cars to find an empty seat, he stuck his hands in his pockets, figuring that if he did that then he wouldn't magically become half naked in public again. He sighed with relief when he stepped into the second to last car and saw that every seat was empty.

"Excellent. Now I don't have to worry about it." He took a seat in the car and put his head back. "Boy am I tired." The numerous jobs he had been going on recently were starting to get to him. Just like Natsu, he wanted to get picked to go on the S Class exam, and the best way to guarantee a spot in it was to take as many jobs as he possibly could. And that was starting to get to him. "This'll be my last one until tomorrow…" He yawned and closed his eyes to try and get some rest before his job.

"Uuhhhhh…"

"Wait… what was that?" Grey stood up and looked around the train car, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Come on, Grey… You're too old to believe in ghosts…"

"Uuuuggghhhhh." It was like a loud, long moaning that came from a sick person. Grey started to walk down the car, checking every booth for anything that could possibly the source of the strange sound. The farther he moved towards the doors, the louder the moaning got. "Ungh…" He moved closer and closer to the door, inching towards the sound. And as he peeked over the last booth seat before the doors, he found it.

"WHOA! NATSU!?" Natsu layed there, his very soul beginning to leak out of his mouth. "What are you doing!?" He picked him up and slung him over his shoulder, then carried him to a nearby seat. "Here we go…" After slamming Natsu into one of the booths, he took a seat on the opposite one. "Jeez, Natsu. This is kind of pathetic."

He watched Natsu drool on the seat the entire ride, making sure that he wouldn't choke on his on saliva and die or something. Then he noticed something very strange.

_'Wait a second… he doesn't have his scarf on!'_ The scarf the Natsu had received from Igneel, the thing he cherished the most in the entire world, was gone. Grey could hardly believe his eyes. He found it odd that Natsu never took the thing off in the first place, but after seven years of knowing the pink haired Dragon Slayer, Grey found it even odder that he would ever take it off.

He dismissed it and layed his head back to rest, proclaiming that he was too tired to care about it. And while trying to ignore the half dead wizard across from him, he rested. The town was still pretty far away, so Grey had some time to get some much needed sleep.

-In the City of Fogsburg-

Lisanna sat on a bench on the platform, trying to calm down after her panic. She had never ridden a train with Natsu before, but she knew full well about his problem with transportation. And because of that, she figured that accidentally leaving him on the train was a bad move. So she sat on her bench, her elbows resting on her knees and her hands over her forehead, waiting for the train to come all way back from Magnolia with Natsu. It was a long wait.

At last, after two whole hours of waiting, the train finally pulled back into the station. Lisanna sighed with relief and stood up to re-board the train to get Natsu off of it.

_'At this rate, somebody else will take that job… Natsu wouldn't be happy about that.'_ She sighed, just knowing that Natsu bolted out the door without telling Mirajane what job he was taking so she could take it off the board. When the doors slid open, she began to step inside of the train car she and Natsu had been in, only to find something kind of shocking.

"Come… on… you… big… lunk!" Grey was pulling Natsu down the hallway, trying to get him off the train. "I should've just left you by the door. Would've made this a _lot_ easier on me." Lisanna gently knocked on the wall of the train.

"Um… Grey?" This made Grey look back in surprise, but upon seeing Lisanna holding Natsu's scarf, he smiled.

"Lisanna. Come help me with this idiot."

After successfully getting Natsu off of the train, Lisanna picked him up and put him on her back. Then she and Grey began to leave the train station. She decided it would be best to explain what had happened to Grey.

"I see… so he invited you out here so you could do a job together?" Lisanna nodded.

"Yup. Although it was more like a kidnapping then an invite. But I was more than happy to go along with him." She lowered her head a little bit, hiding her smile behind Natsu's scarf, which she had decided to wear while she carried him. "So why are you here?"

"Well, I took a job. I'm supposed to meet some rich guy and clear out these monsters living near his house."

_'Oh great, Natsu. Somebody already took our job from us.'_ "That's cool." Lisanna continued to carry Natsu down the street as she walked with Grey. "You and Natsu have been going out on a lot of jobs recently, huh?"

"Yeah. But that's because we both want to be S Class so badly. Actually, I'm surprised he offered to take you along with him, since he hasn't even been taking Lucy or Happy recently." It surprised her too, although it actually was the first time she thought about it. He was even leaving Happy behind so he could pull off more jobs to get chosen for the S Class exams. The fact that he'd take her over his best friend made her blush and smile even more, even if Happy was more like Natsu's son than anything else.

"Yeah… I guess so." They walked a bit farther in silence, Grey just enjoying the quietness of the city, and Lisanna pondering why Natsu had asked her to come along. It hadn't been worrying her at all, but the more she thought about it, the more it did. "So, Grey. I guess me and Natsu will go find a place to eat or something. I'll see you later."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Okay." Grey continued onward, and Lisanna carried Natsu down a side street, hoping to find something that smelled good enough to wake Natsu up.

_'Jeez, is he always out for this long?'_ She could feel his chest move up and down as he breathed but, oddly enough, he wasn't snoring like he normally did. He was sound asleep. Then he started to fidget a little bit.

"Igneel…" He spoke the name of the dragon that had been like a father to him. The dragon that taught him everything he knew about magic. "Igneel… wait…"

_'Huh. He must be dreaming. I'll just let him sleep, then.'_ And so, Lisanna carried Natsu to a place where he could sleep off his motion sickness. She decided on a small park somewhere near the middle of the city. It wasn't unlike the park in Magnolia. She sat him down against one of the trees and sat down next to him. _'It sure is peaceful in this town…'_

After another half an hour passed, Lisanna had fallen asleep. She knew that she was supposed to be there so that she could help Natsu with a job, but she didn't know where to go to take it, so all she could do was wait for Natsu to wake up. And while she did that, she fell asleep herself.

Around the time that she fell asleep, Natsu began to wake up. With a stretch and a fairly loud yawn, he opened his eyes to see the sun beginning to set in the unfamiliar city.

"Boy, what a good nap. But it seems like it started a bad way… Uh…" He looked around, wondering where he was, until he noticed the sleeping Lisanna next to him. _'Oh yeah, we should be in Fogsburg. I guess I passed out on the train again…'_ He stretched again and began to get up, but about halfway, he had another thought. _'Wait…'_

"THE JOB!" He began to shout, but when he remembered that Lisanna was asleep right next to him, he clamped his hand over his mouth. He looked over at her for a while, wondering what he should do now that it was probably too late to get the job.

-In the Middle of the City of Fogsburg-

Lisanna began to open her eyes, but still couldn't see very well. She began to wonder what time it was, and how long she had been asleep. But something was strange. She was no longer sitting back against a tree. Instead, it was like she being carried.

"You're finally awake, huh?" She knew the voice immediately.

"Natsu…?" She wiped her eyes and opened them fully to realize that now Natsu was carrying her.

"You were asleep for quite a while. Don't worry though; Grey's already got us some rooms at the Inn he's staying at."

"I'm sorry, Natsu…" She buried her face into his back, which made her realize that she was still wearing his scarf.

"For what?"

"For all sorts of things… I accidentally left you on the train… I made you miss the job…"

"Nah, don't worry about it, Lisanna. We'll get the next one, for sure!" He looked back at her with a smile that could only make her smile too. "For now we need to get some sleep so we can head back to Magnolia in the morning. Maybe this time we can get to it before Grey does." Lisanna nodded and put her face deeper into his scarf.

"I like your scarf, Natsu. It's always so warm…"

"That because it was made from Igneel's body. Since he's a fire dragon, it constantly has a small amount of heat radiating from it." Lisanna, her entire face buried by the scarf, only nodded. And she began to drift back off to sleep.

Natsu carried his sleeping friend to the Inn that Grey had told him about and then all the way up to her room. Once inside, he layed her down on the bed and covered her with the blanket. He decided to let her keep his scarf for the night, since he didn't want to disturb her sleep.

"One night with somebody else won't hurt." He smiled and walked out of the door to go to his own room, ready for a good, long, nap. It had been a long day for Natsu, even if he didn't remember half of it due to being unconscious. And just as he layed his head down upon his own pillow, they struck.

Three simultaneous explosions went off around the city, one of them right across the street from the Inn. Natsu immediately jumped up and rushed to the window to see what was going on. And standing down in the street below was a medium sized man with wavy red hair. Grey did the same, and looked out his own window to see the same man that Natsu had seen. Neither of them knew who he was, or what he wanted.

But when Lisanna ran to the window of her room, and saw the same man, she panicked again. While she couldn't answer who he was, or what he wanted, she did recognize his outfit and hair style.

He was one of the men that got off at the platform of Fogsburg before she did.

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Hello again, Fandom! Hope you liked that Chapter of my story! Lots of romance in it, so for all of you Natsu x Lisanna shippers out there, rejoice! So, fair warning... The next one might suck, because if you can pick up on that last line, it is going to be a long, drawn out, Fairy Tail style battle scene. Anyone that's read my other stories knows that I'm not good with explaing battle scenes in words... Better with pictures, but I can't draw... So yeah! Until Next Time~


	3. Devil's Requiem

What up, Fandom? Still reading this, huh? Well... Let me test your loyalty with a - BATTLE CHAPTER! Not just a scene, but the whole chapter will be one, big, epic-filled, godly, awsome, sexy, running-out-of-adjectives, battle between the bad guy and Natsu+Grey. GO FAIRY TAIL! Chapter 3. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 3: Devil's Requiem**

The man lifted both of his arms into the air, and without any sound, summoned a large, black magic circle, which spontaneously made a building near him explode. Natsu should have been angry at what the man was doing, except he couldn't quite feel the anger over the excitement.

"Alright! He looks really strong!" Not wanting to waste any time, Natsu opened his window and jumped straight down into the street, and much to his surprise, Grey followed right behind him. "Grey, you know this guy?"

"No, why would I?" The two of them smiled, and without any given warning, attacked the man. "Ice Make… Geyser!" Grey opened up by sending the man flying up into the night sky with a well-placed icy tower directly beneath him.

"Fire Dragon… ROOOOOOAAAAR!" Natsu followed up by sending a large blast of fire breath at him. The red-haired man, seemingly caught off guard by the duo's attack, came crashing back down to Earthland, making a crater form in the streets. "EHHH! Did we just win!?"

Despite appearances however, they did not. The man simply pushed himself back up, and brushed away the dirt he was covered in. Natsu and Grey, although knowing that he wouldn't have been defeated that easily, were still surprised at how little damage their attacks had done. As the man walked towards them, he spun his head around, cracking his neck in several different places.

"So… I take it that you two are Grey Fullbuster and Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah, and just who the hell are you?" The man grew a wicked smile.

"My name is Jeremiah Loust. I'm with the Devil's Requiem guild. Nice to meet ya." His arrogant smile grew even larger, and he lifted his arm to point in between the two of them. "I didn't think I'd run into either of you, let alone both at the same time. But this should make things more interesting."

"Devil's Requiem, huh? That's one of the newer dark wizard guilds, ain't it? This should make things fun!"

"Think so, kid? Then how's this for fun!? Shadow Barrage!" A magic circle appeared in front of his hand, and multiple large, black fists came shooting outwards, flying directly towards Natsu. Without hesitation, Natsu jumped out of the way and issued a counter attack.

"Fire Dragon… Iron TALON!" Natsu charged at Jeremiah, his fists ablaze with magic flames. "Eat this!" With no defense at all, Jeremiah was sent flying backwards by the Dragon Slayer's fire packed punch. The dark wizard placed his hands on the ground and did a couple flips to catch his balance, but didn't seem to be effected by the attack at all. "Wait… what's with this?"

"Is that all the power a legendary Dragon Slayer can muster? Okay then, why don't you try this on for size!?" The man punched his fists together, creating a red magic circle. Natsu knew the circle well, as did Grey and Lisanna. "Copy Magic: Fire Dragon…"

"No way! Natsu!" Grey turned towards his confused friend. "MOVE!"

"ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAR!" The large blast of flames shot out like a beam, much like it always did when Natsu used it, but this time it was aimed _at_ Natsu, who was thrown off guard by the strange magic. It made a direct hit, sending the Dragon Slayer backwards into a building.

"Natsu!" Lisanna began to tear up, and grabbed her jacket to run outside and help him. But Lisanna didn't know just what Natsu was capable of. The boy picked himself back up, coughing a little bit as the dust settled around him.

"That's a neat trick you got there, dark wizard. Let's see you do it again."

"With pleasure." Jeremiah now placed a fist into the palm of his other hand, and held them both behind his back. "Once I see a magic ability, I never forget it! Ice Make: Hammer!" A large hammer formed above Natsu and Grey as his hand shot forward.

"You should know…" Natsu's leg began to lite up with flames. He jumped in the air and kicked the icy hammer, making it shatter into pieces. "That fire beats ice!" Now it was Grey's turn to attack. He put his own fist into his palm and moved his hands behind his back.

"Ice Make: Spears!" Multiple icy spikes formed in front of his body, and with a swift hand motion, went flying towards his enemy.

"Copy Magic: Fire Dragon's Iron Talon! Shadow Barrage!" The Shadow Barrage from before had transformed into flaming fists that smashed each of Grey's spears into dust. "I guess fire does beat ice." The man's smile got even bigger.

"Combining techniques!? That's insane!"

"Fire Dragon's Dazzling Blaze!" Natsu held a large ball of flame above his head, and threw it at Jeremiah. "Take that!" The ball hurled at the dark wizard with insanely fast speed.

"Interesting… Heavenly Body Magic: Meteor!" Jeremiah shot up into the air, covered in an eerie, yellow light. The glow of the magic that Jellal used.

"Heavenly Body? That's Jellal's magic!"

"I told you, my Copy Magic doesn't forget any magic that it sees. Even if I don't experience the magic, just seeing it is good enough!" He held his left hand in the air, open to show the palm. His right hand, he place above his left, extending two fingers. "Now, try this one! Grand Chariot!" The magic whose power can be compared to an actual meteor reigned down upon the streets, taking multiple buildings, and Natsu and Grey, down with it.

But Natsu wasn't giving up. He had felt that same magic once before, and this time he knew how to handle it. He picked himself back up and used his own magic to fly up into the air. With one swift kick, he knocked his opponent out of the sky.

"If you think stronger magic is going to work on me, you're wrong!" Natsu punched his own fists together, creating the red magic circle. "Fire Dragon… ROOOOOOOOOOAAAR!" This time, the blast was fired at Jeremiah, who was unable to defend himself thanks to Natsu's previous kick. "Grey! End it!"

"Gladly!" Grey posed himself, ready to launch the battle ending blow. "Ice Make: SAUCER!" A large, silvery disc formed next to Grey's hands, which he thrusted forward, making the newly formed saucer fire at his downed enemy with incredible speed.

Just as Grey's attack made contact with the spot the Jeremiah lay, Lisanna burst through the doors of the Inn. But upon seeing the dust settle around the dark wizard she stopped. What lay there was supposed to be a physical damaged man, but instead, he was standing again.

"That was quite the attack, Fairy Tail wizards." Jeremiah wobbled as he stood, his legs about to give in at any moment. He lifted an arm into the air, summoning a golden magic circle. "Copy Magic: Heaven's Touch." A small, golden circle formed above his head, like an angelic halo. It moved up and down his body, instantly removing all of his wounds.

"No way… What's this guy made out of!?" Lisanna covered her mouth, the man's sheer power almost scaring her.

"Lisanna… Move back…" Natsu stepped forward, throwing his shirt onto the ground. "I'm going to end this, right here and now!"

"Really now?" Jeremiah stepped forward, cracking his neck. "What makes you say that, boy?"

"I'm getting tired of fighting you, and you've cause too much damage to this city already!" Flames began to swirl around Natsu's body, weaving around like a snake. "Now we get serious!"

"A Fairy Tail wizard getting serious over collateral damage?" Jeremiah took a battle stance, his own dark magic aura surrounding his body. "From what I hear, the mighty Salamander does more harm than good when he gets serious." Lisanna stood, watching in awe of the great magical power coming from them both.

_'The whole time… neither of them were fighting seriously!?'_

"Let's see whose magic is better, Jeremiah!" Natsu cupped his hand together and placed them over his mouth, sucking in as much air as he possibly could.

"Indeed, Natsu Dragneel!" Jeremiah did the same. "Copy Magic: Fire Dragon…"

"Fire Dragon…"

With a simultaneous "ROOOOAAAAAAAR", both of the wizards shot out a lightning fast bolt of fire at the other, making the two breath attacks collide midway. At first, it seemed the two attack were on par, but in a single instant, Natsu was overpowered.

"Natsu!" Lisanna screamed as her friend was launched backwards by Jeremiah's attack, which so easily beat his own.

"That damned idiot!" Grey stepped forward, quickly casting an ice spell. "Ice Make: Catcher's Mitt!" A large, baseball glove shaped block of ice formed behind Natsu, safely stopping him from his fall.

"WAAA- HAHAHAHA!" The man that sent Natsu flying backwards laughed hysterically. "Is that all the great Natsu the Salamander has? Come on, boy, you're supposed to be a legend!" Lisanna stared at Natsu, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Natsu…" She covered her mouth. "No… Natsu! Natsu, get up!"

"I think that about wraps things… huh?" Jeremiah began to turn and walk away, but was stopped in his tracks by a large, orange bolt of light that came from the block of ice. "What the hell is that…?"

In the distance, sitting atop the icy glove, was a beaten wizard, who had all the energy in the world. The orange flames that surrounded him started to swirl, and got sucked up into his mouth. After every last flame was gone, he stood up straight and wiped his mouth.

"Thanks… for the meal."

"What? How is that possible!?" Natsu smiled and jumped back down into the street.

"You must not know too much about me, dark wizard. I'm a Dragon Slayer, a wizard with magic strong enough to slay dragons. And as such, I can eat my own element for a power boost."

"No… NO! You can't eat flames produced by Dragon Slayer magic!"

"Wrong again. I can't eat the flames that _I_ produce. Meaning that if I'm not the one that makes them, it's fair game." Natsu lifted his fist, which spontaneously exploded into flames. "Now, I think we have a fight to finish." Natsu punched his fists together, creating another red magic circle. "Fire Dragon…"

"Ha… Fool… My magic is still more powerful!"

"ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" The flames shot out, almost instantly striking Jeremiah before he had a chance to use a counter attack.

The impact this time sent Jeremiah flying backwards. Except when he landed, he didn't get back up.

"Don't ever think that copied magic is stronger than the original, dark wizard. And don't underestimate… Wizards of Fairy Tail!"

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Wow, read the whole thing? Good for you, Fandom member. *Heart*. Well, next one will have some comedy, fights, and maybe some heartbreak. Yeah, probably not. Until Next Time.


	4. Fogsburg Under Attack

AHH! Sorry for the wait, Fandom! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Chapter 4, Go! Enjoy.

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**Chapter 4: Fogsburg Under Attack**

Natsu, Grey, and Lisanna ran towards the source of another explosion. They seemed to be going off all over the city, but Natsu could only sense three strong magical presences not including the ones he sensed from Grey and Lisanna. And Lisanna felt them too.

_'I'm almost sure that there were only three men… so why do I still detect three magic sources?'_ But little did she know - little did _any_ of them know, in fact - that there was another powerful wizard in the city. But the question was… was this wizard friend or foe?

Well, she was a friend. It was Juvia, doing her usual psychotic routine.

She followed behind the trio, not wanting to expose her presence due to not being invited there. After all, she didn't want to make Grey-sama worry about her. (Not like he would anyway).

"Grey-sama… Juvia will help too!" She turned, reluctantly, away from Grey and headed off to the second of the two overwhelming magic powers, while Grey, Natsu, and Lisanna, ran to the first.

"Oi, Natsu! Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine. That guy wasn't anything to worry about, and this one won't be either." Natsu was certain that he would win. But even so, Lisanna was worried.

"Okay… if you say so."

"Don't worry about ol' flame brain, Lisanna. He'll do just fine." Natsu smiled as he got pumped for the upcoming fights.

Natsu was ready to take out the dark wizards terrorizing the city since he had lost the job to Grey. And he figured that taking down a Dark Guild would get him more reputation than killing some monsters.

_'Let's do this, Devil's Requiem!'_

-Following Juvia-

Juvia ran down the street, the opposite direction of Natsu, Grey, and Lisanna, searching for the man exuding the enormous magical energy. It was a quite large, but the one that the others were running to seemed bigger, so she figured it was an okay balance.

"Juvia will stop you, bad people!" As she made her way down another road she could feel the magic power reaching its peak, meaning the source was close. That combined with the increasing volume of the explosions and screaming let her know she was coming face to face with the dark wizard responsible. "Here it comes…!"

As she turned, she was met with nothing more than a large, silvery flash that shot out like a beam and struck her in the gut. She tumbled through the air and then down to the ground from the sheer force.

"Hello, Fairy Tail wizard." Juvia looked up to see the attacker, a mountain of a man who wore a large black cloak and held a staff as tall as he was. "My name is Marquis Duala, from Devil's Requiem."

He towered over Juvia as she lay in the street, obviously disoriented from the surprise attack. Knowing this, he cut introductions short and attacked again, with a magic very familiar to Juvia. He held his hand up, forming a small ball of water in his outward facing palm.

_'Wait… this is…'_

"Water Lock." Juvia was lifted into the air, and encased in a tomb of water. The spherical waves began to tighten around her body, making it hard for her to breathe. "Try an escape this, Fairy." Juvia only smirked through the slight pain of her own attack hitting her, making Marquis raise an eyebrow.

"You must not know Juvia, dark wizard Marquis!" She began to dissolve her own body into nothingness, making her opponent widen both eyes in surprise. "Juvia's body is _made_ of water!" In an instant, her body had formed completely with the attack, and spilled out the side, forming back into her human form. "Water Jet!"

She attacked back immediately, shooting a large stream of water out of her own hand to push her opponent backwards a couple of feet, and then followed up by turning her free arm into water and bashing him with it. The attack made him drop his staff to the ground as he put his arms up to defend.

"Interesting… another water mage…" He pushed his arm forward, dispelling Juvia's attack. "This could prove to be fun." He smiled, taunting Juvia to attack again. She quickly obliged, sending another powerful Water Jet at him.

But instead of blocking it, this time he took it head on. He let it pound against his chest as he placed his hands inside of it. Then he closed his eyes and began to concentrate. And as he did that, his magic power seemed to rise.

_'He's… getting stronger!?'_

"Now…" He opened his eyes back up. "Try this, Fairy. Manipulation Magic: Boiler." The stream of water began to bubble, as if it was set over a fire, and began to get extremely hot.

"Ahh!" Juvia lurched backwards as the water coming from her hand scorched her. "Ow… What was that?" Marquis bent over to pick his staff back up and began to walk towards Juvia.

"That was my magic. Water Manipulation." He held the staff up, forming a blue magic circle in front of it. The circle blasted a stream of water at Juvia, who was too slow to dodge. It hit her swift and hard, knocking her body backwards even farther.

"Ungh… Juvia is getting angry!" Juvia quickly stood up and held her hand outwards. "Water Lock!" The same sphere of water appeared around Marquis, who was instantly trapped in the attack. "Now Juvia will end you!"

"Foolish Fairy." Marquis closed his eyes again, and his magic energy spiked even higher. "Freeze." As he opened his eyes, the sphere froze over, and shattered as it hit the ground.

"That was… how Juvia lost to Grey-sama!"

"Manipulation: Implosion." A tiny ball of water went in front Juvia and, at Marquis' command, burst into an immense attack, decimating the entire area.

-Following Natsu, Grey, and Lisanna-

Natsu charged at the man who he had just seen blow up an entire building with a single attack. The man didn't see him coming, and was hit Natsu's fire powered punch, making him fly through the air.

"Natsu… that was a cheap shot…" Grey ran up to where Natsu was, staring in amazement at the incredibly low move that his friend had just pulled.

"Indeed… you shouldn't strike a man from behind, Natsu Dragneel." The man stood up, fairly uninjured from the strike. "Thank you for pointing that out, Grey Fullbuster." Grey started to get creeped out looking at the man Natsu had punched.

His hair was tall and black. But not a natural black, more like a dyed black. He had small eyes, which were slanted like Natsu's, and an incredibly creepy smile.

"Who the hell is this freak supposed to be?" Grey took a fighting pose, ready to attack the man.

"Me? How kind of you to ask, Grey Fullbuster." He took a small bow. "My name is Osmond. Osmond Denwald. Nice to meet you." He lifted himself up and smiled at his two opponents. "Who's first?"

"ME!" Natsu quickly charged at the man again, flames surrounding his fist. "Iron Fist of the FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu swung forward, his fist making direct contact with his opponent's body. But the attack stopped dead. "What the…?"

A fist came crashing down on top of Natsu's head, sending him cratering down into the cement road. And soon after, and foot to his back layed him down flat.

"Sorry, Natsu Dragneel. But that won't work twice!"

"Ice Make: Lance!" Grey attacked as Natsu went down, sending multiple icy spears toward the dark wizard.

"That won't work once…" Osmond smiled as the attack shattered upon contact with his body. "Now let's see if my attacks can affect you, Grey Fullbuster. Shadow Field: Disruption." Osmond held his arm outwards, and a large magic circle formed on the ground between them. But other than the ground shaking a bit, nothing happened.

"Look like it doesn't! Ice Make…" Grey placed his fist inside of his palm once more, creating bluish smoke around his hands. "Geyser!" He threw both hands forward, expecting to form a large ice jets below his opponents feet, but nothing happened. "Wait… What?"

"Looks like it did, Geheheh!"

"You… what did you do?"

"That is my magic, Grey Fullbuster. While in the vicinity of my Shadow Field, your magic is rendered useless." He threw his arms up and down and left and right multiple times, forming magic circles all around the air, creating a box like arena.

Before Grey could react, Osmond dashed for him, punching him in the chest multiple times. Grey staggered back a bit and was then hit with a large beam of magical energy. It sent him hurling through the air, and made him crash into a building.

Meanwhile, Lisanna had run to Natsu's side, trying to get him back up. The combo that was delivered by the dark wizard still seemed to be ringing his head.

"Natsu… wake up! Grey's in trouble!" She shook her confused friend back into reality, although it took a _lot_ of shaking. The attack did a number on him, and he was more vulnerable than normal after his last battle. "Come on, Natsu…"

"I'm fine…" He staggered forward, but caught himself before he fell over. As he stood up straight he looked at the magic arena. "What the hell is that?"

"He called it Shadow Field. It's stopping Grey from using any magic."

"A magic disruptor, huh? Well let's see what we can do about that." Natsu took a few steps forward and began to glow with intense fire. It burned at his feet, and slowly surrounded his whole body. With a punch to his own fists, he summoned a magic circle and began his attack. "Fire Dragon… ROOOAAAAAAAAAR!"

The crimson flames shot out of Natsu's mouth like a rocket, making a deep impact upon the magic barrier. But no matter how strong his attack may have been, the circles didn't falter. When any fire from the breath attack touched it, it disappeared.

"Dammit… They cancel out all of my magic…" Natsu took a knee, obviously still exhausted from his last fight. He hadn't given himself a chance to replenish any magic, so he was running low on energy.

"Natsu, don't push yourself." He began breathing heavy, trying to catch his breath.

"Lisanna… can you feel that?" He was referring to the other two magic powers that, unknown to either of them, belonged to Juvia and her opponent.

"Yeah… those other two magic powers have clashed. But one of them seems to be growing rapidly…" Natsu's breath was heavy, and his magic power seemed to be dropping steadily. But even so, he stood back up on his own two feet and took another battle stance.

"Lisanna… can you go figure out what's going on over there?" Lisanna became even more worried. To her, it seemed like Natsu was down for the count, and she wanted to make sure he was alright. "Fire Dragon…" As Natsu sucked in another large gust of air, Lisanna nodded, and ran off to the other two magic powers.

"ROOOOOAAAAAAARRR!" Lisanna looked back as Natsu's flames raged upon the magic barrier again.

_'Be safe Natsu…'_

-Juvia and Marquis' Fight-

"Water Jet!"

"Freeze." Juvia continued to unleash her attacks upon the dark wizard, and he kept countering, either by freezing or evaporating her attacks. The entire enclosure of buildings they stood in was turned into a battlefield. The only two souls that remained were Juvia and her opponent. The ground, buildings, and everything in between had either been damaged or full on destroyed by the attacks.

They had been fighting for about twenty minutes, and they had both used a great deal of magic. But while Marquis seemed to be fine and ready to go all day, Juvia was out of breath.

"What's wrong, Fairy? Out of stamina already?"

"Juvia… is still… able… to fight…" Her words were parted by her shortness of breath. She was vulnerable, easy to attack, and almost out. But even so, her opponent stayed idle.

"Perhaps you should come back when you're not so… weak?"

"Juvia… is not… weak!" She lifted her hand and threw another blast of water at her opponent, who simply side stepped away from it. "Juvia… will… win…" With her final word, she fell upon the ground. She was too tired to continue her fight.

"Now Fairy… you die." Marquis held his staff outwards and spun it in his hands twice. "Water Manipulation: Rainfall." Out of nowhere, dark clouds began to take shape in the sky, forming ominous shapes and symbols. Then the clouds began to pour thick drops of water downwards towards Earthland. They came down fast, instantly smashing against the ground.

"Rain…"

"Secret Water Art: Grand Hailstorm." As Marquis spun his staff once more, each pellet of water froze into a large block of ice; and instead of falling straight downwards, they swarmed at Juvia. Each and every drop of frozen rain came down upon her weakened body. "The rain shall destroy even a woman whose body is made of water."

"Rain…?" Juvia began to shake, not with fear, but with laughter. "Juvia… IS the rain!" Marquis opened his eyes in surprise as Juvia stood. "Juvia will not lose!" She extended her arms, which made the rain stop in midair, and redirected it towards their caster.

Marquis put up his arms in defense from his own attack as he was pelted from all sides by the hailstorm. Juvia had finally taken a lead, and she didn't stop. She combined her own vicious attacks to Marquis', making him lose ground. She kept unleashing all of her attacks until he finally went flying.

As he crashed against a building, Lisanna made her way onto the battlefield.

"Juvia!" She ran to her friend's side as she finally collapsed from exhaustion. "Geez… you people really go all out, don't you?" Juvia smiled up at Lisanna, who couldn't help but smile back

"He's a… dark wizard…"

"I know. Natsu and Grey are fighting his teammate. Although I don't think either of them are doing too well at the moment…"

"Natsu Dragneel and Grey Fullbuster?" The voice made both of them look upwards. "No, no. Sorry, Lisanna Strauss, but they aren't fighting anybody." Standing on the roof of the building that Marquis had crashed into was the black haired man that had been fighting Grey.

"Osmond…" Marquis began to stand from his spot amongst the rocks. "She's strong." Osmond jumped down in front of his teammate and placed his hand behind him.

"No, Marquis Duala… There is no such thing as a strong person. The only ones who are powerful are the gods. When it comes to people, everyone is weak. Some are just weaker." He looked back at the tall man, and raised an eyebrow. "And I have no need… for the weaker humans."

Marquis' body grew stiff, and the color drained out of skin. Within seconds, he fell to the ground.

"How dare you!" Lisanna instantly charged at Osmond, her fists turning into tiger claws. "How could you kill your own friend!?" She slashed at him as she drew near, but he simply moved backwards and grabbed her wrist.

"Yes, I hear that Fairy Tail wizards don't enjoy friendly fire very much… Fortunately for me though, I have no friends."

"Friends or not… he's Nakama!"

"Taking this very seriously, eh, Lisanna Strauss? Well there's something Devil's Requiem takes seriously too; their jobs. And my job is to procure a fine specimen. Something… like you and your friend." He placed his free hand over her forehead and pushed her very lightly, making her lose consciousness.

"Lisanna!" Juvia tried to stand to help her friend but couldn't muster enough strength. "What did you do?"

"Nothing much, Juvia Lockser. I merely used a Shadow Field to deplete her magic energy and force her to lose consciousness. Something that doesn't seem necessary for you…" He held his hand up and cast a small spell, making Juvia fall asleep. "Jeremiah Loust."

Within seconds, the first mage who had been defeated by Natsu appeared on the scene, kneeling down to salute his apparent leader.

"Yes, my lord?"

"It would seem that you lost your fight with Natsu Dragneel." Jeremiah hung his head in shame, afraid to respond.

"Yes… I did, Lord Osmond…"

"Well, fortunately, you still caused him to use a great deal of magic, and because of that he didn't interfere with my fight. So… pick those two up and follow me."

"Yes, Lord Osmond!"

Jeremiah ran to pick up the two Fairy Tail wizard's limp bodies, slinging them both over his shoulder. Then, the two dark wizards turned and disappeared into the night.

* * *

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, So Sorry! No excuse for lateness, but there is an apology for it: longer chapter! All right.

So how'd you like this one? I think the battle scene could have been better, but I did my best. Sort of out of my element on this one, what with the battles and point of view. But its good to expand horizons, right? Anyway. Hope to see you again! Until Next Time~


	5. A Scarf That Broke A Man

(Please Refer To Profile To See Why I'm So Late) What up, Fandom? Nice to see you again! Welcome to the fifth Chapter of my Fairy Tail Story! We've had a lot of action recently, so this one is going to be a filler. Sorry bout that. Anyway, Chapter 5! Enjoy. (The Chapter Has Been Extended Due To Increased Ideas, And The Dang Shortness Of It)

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As the wind blew across the barren street, it carried the dust and debris from the fight previously held there along with it. And as this wind and dust blew, it blew over two figures that lay in the seemingly empty battlefield. It blew, moving visible clouds of dust over the two beaten wizards.

"Ungh…" As the dust moved away from him, one of the men began to wake from his forced slumber. "What the hell…?" The wizard dressed in white slowly began to push himself up into a sitting position, which proved to be quite easy considering his injuries. "What the hell happened?"

As he said it, the memories of the previous night hit the Fairy Tail wizard like lightning. The explosions, the fights, the merciless beating… everything came rushing back into his head faster than a freight train, and with ten times the power.

"Dammit!" Grey clenched his teeth and slammed his fist upon the ground, the mere thought of the man who beat him enough to make a vein pop. He struggled to get up for only a moment, and when he was finally standing his legs shook.

As soon as he caught his own balance, his eyes scanned the area, searching for the other body. It took only a few seconds for him to spot his fallen friend. About forty or so feet from where Grey was now standing lay the wizard dressed in black.

"Natsu!" Grey shouted towards his friend, trying to see if he was conscious yet. "Come on, Natsu. Get up!" Grey slowly walked towards the spot where Natsu laid, his legs ready to give in at any moment. The pain was almost too much to handle. After all, the dark wizard had practically pounded him into pieces. _'If that fight had gone on any longer… I'd probably be blowing right alongside the dust in this wind… Dammit!'_ Grey shook the thought from his head.

Grey began to walk a little faster, though it was difficult, to get to his friend. As he got close to him, he finally gave in to his legs and fell down to his knees.

"Come on, Natsu. Be alive…" Grey reached out and pulled Natsu's shoulder, making the pink-haired boy roll over onto his back. "Natsu! Oi, Natsu!" Grey began to shake Natsu, fearing for the worst. But then… something happened.

"No, no. I couldn't possibly take another bite, Happy…" A small stream of drool began to pour from Natsu's mouth as he lay in the dirt.

"He's…." Grey took a good look at his sleeping friend's face. "Dreaming…" And as he looked at his stupid face… "You have got…" Grey's temple just about burst. "TO BE KIDDING ME!" Grey threw his fist downwards into Natsu's stomach, making the latter's head and legs lurch upwards.

"OW!" Natsu began to get up as Grey stood and walked away. "Dammit, Grey! You lookin for a fight!?"

"Now ain't the time, Natsu." Grey began to scan the streets again. "Where the hell is Lisanna? Wasn't she running here with us?"

"Lis… LISANNA!" Natsu stood up with incredible speed despite his intense injuries and made a mad dash through the city streets.

"OI! NATSU!" Grey began to call after him, but swiftly changed his mind and just followed instead. "That pin-brained moron…" Natsu kept running down the street, completely ignoring his injuries. As he ran, his head shot left to right like he was looking for something.

'This smell… It's familiar…'

Natsu closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to determine the smell. _'It's definitely blood. But… NO!'_ He knew the smell that the wind blew into his nose. _'It can't be!'_

He got closer to the smell with every step, and as he rounded a corner to take the last few steps needed, his eyes made an unsettling discovery.

It was a plaza in the middle of the city, but it looked like it had been turned into a battlefield. The ground was smashed, and the buildings were crumbling away. The place seemed to be the exact location where he sensed the two magic powers clashing while Grey was fighting the dark wizard, Osmond. The place… he had told Lisanna to go check out.

"Natsu, what the hell are you doing…?" Grey had finally caught up, but Natsu was already standing still, like he had been turned to stone. "Nats…" Grey's gaze drifted to where Natsu was staring, and he saw the same thing his friend did.

Hanging from a small metal rod that was jetting out of a pile of rubble in front of a building was a white scarf with a dragon scale pattern.

Natsu's scarf.

**Chapter 5: The Scarf That Broke A Man**

-City of Magnolia, Fairy Tail Guild-

Everyone was silent, the entirety of the guild completely muted from the impact of the news. Natsu hadn't said anything; he was the most silent of them all. None of them could imagine the amount of pain he must've been in, and nobody tried.

Mirajane had to leave the hall entirely, making her run outside with Elfman following close behind her. The news of her sister missing so soon after she had finally come home devastated her to no end. Elfman seemed to handle it to some extent, but he was more than likely hurting just as much.

Upon arriving back at the guild, Erza had told Grey that Juvia had followed him to the train station. After he told the guild what happened, Grey figured that the other magic power Lisanna went to check out was probably Juvia.

"Natsu…" Happy looked at his friend from a distance, a great amount of worry cast in his eyes.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Happy…" Lucy forced a smile at the small, blue Exceed. "At least I hope so…" The news struck Lucy pretty hard as well. Even though she didn't know Lisanna very well, she knew that she was an important part of the guild.

Despite Lucy's words, Happy was still worried. Of all the people in the world, he knew the most how much Natsu cared for Lisanna. On top of that, he knew that Natsu was blaming himself for letting her get taken.

-Flashback, City of Fogsburg-

"No…" Natsu dropped to his knees in front of the scarf. "What… happened?" Grey only stood there, half-way between horror and disbelief.

"Your scarf means that…"

"Dammit…" Natsu's body began to become encased in flames. "DAMMIT!" The string of flames exploded into a massive tower, making the entire area around him burn to ashes. As it fell, Natsu stood up. "Devil's Requiem… They're all gonna die!" Natsu grabbed his scarf, which hadn't been turned to ash thanks to being made of a fire dragon's body, and began stomping down the street at a quick pace. But before he could get very far, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Natsu! You need to calm down!"

"I can't… They're gonna pay for this!"

"Listen to me! I understand why you're upset, but blindly charging off some random direction ain't gonna solve anything. You'll just end up getting lost." Grey loosened his grip, knowing Natsu wouldn't run off. "Devil's Requiem is one of the fairly new dark guilds. That means that not a lot of people are going to know where they operate from."

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"I… don't know…" Grey sounded confident at first, but now he was slipping. "Look… It ain't gonna do any good to stay here, Natsu. We should head back to the guild for now."

-End of Flashback-

"That was what I said, but…" Grey looked around at the quiet faces, wondering what each of them were thinking. He had convinced Natsu to go back to Magnolia, but he didn't know how that was supposed to help. "Dammit. Dammit all."

"What are we supposed to do now… Master?" Erza looked at the small, old man sitting on top of the counter, her arms crossed. Instead of her normal cold gaze, even Erza wore a look of remorse.

"I'm not sure." He looked at Natsu, who was still leaning against the wall. "If we let him go, there's a good chance that he'll do something he wouldn't want to do. However… we can't just ignore the dark guild's actions, especially since our family is at risk."

"I see… Then why not just keep Natsu here?" Makarov took a deep breath and thought. "It would be prompt to send someone else to get them back."

"Perhaps. But would want to deny him the ability to save her?" Erza looked at her pink-haired friend again.

"No… I wouldn't…"

-Night Time, Natsu and Happy's House-

Natsu lay in in the small bed in his and Happy's house, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, not while he knew that his friends were in danger. It was taking every ounce of his energy just to stay where he was and not run off to find Devil's Requiem and beat them all into the dirt. So trying to focus on sleeping would only end badly.

He looked over at Happy, who was already sound asleep, mumbling something about fish. Seeing his little pal, Natsu couldn't help but smile. But the smile quickly faded.

Then, the door to the house suddenly flung open, shaking the entire structure, and waking Happy from his peaceful slumber. Natsu instantly shot upwards and took an offensive pose.

"Who's there!?" There was a slight pause before someone spoke.

"Natsu… It's me." The light from the moon fell upon the face of Erza, who slowly walked into the house without an invitation.

"Erza…"

"Get your things together. We're going." Natsu stayed in his offensive position, though he was a bit more relaxed.

"Going where?" Erza looked at him with a serious face.

"To find Lisanna and Juvia."

-A Small Path in the Forest-

Natsu walked behind Erza, who steadily made her way through the small path in the forest outside of Magnolia. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he followed behind her regardless. Happy drowsily flew along beside him, yawning ever so often.

"Oi, Erza. You mind explaining what the hell is going on?" Erza remained silent, almost like she refused to answer his question. Natsu didn't ask a second time. Instead, he stopped walking. "Erza."

"I want you to tell me something, Natsu." Erza stopped after walking a few steps ahead of him. "What did it feel like?"

"What did _what_ feel like?"

"When you realized what happened. When you knew that she had been taken… What did you feel?" She turned and looked back at him, waiting for his answer. Natsu raised his fist, and looked at it as he squeezed it until it turned red.

"Anger. Pure, unfiltered, anger. Like I was going to destroy everything in my path to get to her."

"And why do you think that is?" Natsu refocused his attention to his red-haired friend, staring into her eyes.

"She's my Nakama."

"Is that the only reason?"

"What… do you mean, Erza?" She went silent for a second.

"Would it have been the same if it was me? Or Grey? Or Lucy? No… maybe we're not the best examples…"

"It wouldn't matter." Natsu stared at her, his eyes unwavering. "Even if it was the most minor member of the guild. My Nakama are my friends."

"And Lisanna isn't any different than everyone else?" This time, Natsu looked away. "You can try to hide it… But I know, Natsu."

"Is that why you're doing this?" Erza nodded.

"I ignored the Master's orders and am taking you to where the Devil's Requiem guild is." Natsu looked at her again, surprise filling his face.

"You know where it is!?"

"We found out about five hours ago." She turned and began to walk along the path again, and Natsu followed right behind her, a smile growing on his face. "Master wanted you to stay behind, so we can't go directly there, or we risk drawing attention. So it's going to take about two days to get there."

"Why did Gramps want me to stay behind?"

"In truth? He wanted you _and_ Grey to stay behind and recover. But I think you should be one of the people to go."

"One of…?" Erza cleared a small amount of plants from the side of the path and cut through on her own path. After another minute, they came to a clearing.

"Yo, Natsu." Grey, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla stood in front of a large wagon. "Glad you could make it."

"Grey… Is everything ready?" Grey nodded at the red-haired mage.

"Yup, just finished. We're all set to go. Let's go find that damned guild."

* * *

Team Natsu is ready to find Devil's Requiem! Let's hope they can find Lisanna and Juvia before something horrible happens! Until Next Time~

Side Note: Thank You To The People Who Added This Story To NaLi Nation! I Won't Let You Guys Down!


	6. The Hunt Of The Fairies

What up, Fandom? Ready for another action packed Chapter!? Yeah, me neither. I'd like to apologize for the previous failure of Chapter 5. I was in a rush to finish, and really made it bad... Unfortunately, I can't say I improved on this one... While then end finally has some good plot progression, this will mostly focus on lame joke cracking. I'm also mad at myself for not including a lot of Happy. I'll admit, forgetting to include Happy in the first _two_ Chapters was a mistake I couldn't fix... And even _SIX_ chapters in, his only two lines are his catchphrase. _Twice_. God, I suck at life, but enough about me. Onto Chapter 6. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 6: The Hunt of the Fairies**

"Oh, man… I feel like I'm going to die." Natsu leaned the upper half of his body out of the small window in the back of the wagon, his entire soul filtering out of his mouth. "Wendy… cast another Troia…" Wendy sat across from him in the opposite seat so that she could keep an eye on him.

"I would, Natsu-san… But if I cast another one, you might develop an immunity, than they wouldn't work anymore."

"Besides, you shouldn't rely on Wendy's magic so much." Carla, who sat in Wendy's lap, waved her small paw at him, although it looked more cute than serious.

"She's right, Natsu." Erza sat outside of the wagon, in the driver's seat. "You can suck it up until we get there."

"You guys are so mean… Harrumph." Natsu's cheeks began to puff out like he was about to throw up.

"Whoa! Natsu, stay away from me!" Grey, who was sitting next to Natsu, backed away from the pink-haired Dragon Slayer at the face he made. "If you're going to do that…" He took his foot and kicked Natsu's head, making his head go back out the window. "Keep your head out there!"

"Aye, sir…" Happy gave a funny looking smile. All of the antics going on in the wagon made the blonde celestial wizard who sat next to Wendy smile.

'_It looks like Natsu has calmed down a bit… If nothing else, he's back in high spirits.'_ She looked behind her, through the small window to see Erza leading the animal which pulled the wagon in the right direction. '_I guess we have Erza to thank for that… She's the reason we're all going.'_

"Lucy?" Lucy snapped out of her own thoughts at the sound of Erza's voice. "Something wrong?" Lucy noticed that she had been staring at the red-haired Requip mage, and that the latter had looked back.

"Oh! Uh… No. Nothing at all." She gave a half-hearted laugh and turned back around in her seat. '_I have to stop spacing out.'_

The group had been traveling down a small path hidden by a mountain for an entire day, and they were closing in on their destination. That destination… the hidden guild hall of the dark guild, Devil's Requiem. This dark guild is relatively new, but has already made a large name for itself. However, despite efforts from both the guilds of Fiore and even the Magic Council, it still stands.

Ignoring the orders of the Master, Erza brought Natsu and Grey, as well as the rest of "Team Natsu", on an unauthorized trip to the dark guild's hidden base. However, the team still has to rest to build strength. And on that note: Erza had stopped the wagon for the night and the group set up a small campsite.

But it wasn't until late at night, when everyone was seemingly asleep, that the next notable thing happened. Despite his joy at the fact that they knew where the Devil's Requiem guild was hiding, and at the fact that he was going there, Natsu still didn't feel like himself. There was a pain in his chest that he couldn't shake.

Once again, he couldn't sleep. Thoughts of the night in Fogsburg played over and over in his mind. He thought of what he could've done differently, and what he could have done to stop what happened. But that didn't help. All of the thoughts just made him angrier.

-A Small Stone Fortress Hidden in a Deep Forest-

It was dark. Dark and cold. And the blue-haired mage slowly brought herself to a sitting position. She took a minute to check her surroundings while she searched her brain trying to remember what happened. Well, it didn't take long for her to remember, but that doesn't mean it was a good thing.

"Lisanna!" Juvia's body twisted and turned as she looked for her friend. She saw her, lying upon the cold stone floor, and crawled over to see if she was okay. Her heartbeat and breathing were steady, and aside from the minor injuries, she was doing okay. "Thank goodness…" As she looked at her friend, the sound of a metal door opening could be heard echoing through the small hallway, and soon after: footsteps.

The footsteps drew close to the room they were in, which was nothing more than a small room made out of stone with a wall of bars in the middle. Unfortunately, they were behind that bar wall. The footsteps continued to grow louder until they finally stopped outside the small door way in the corner.

The footsteps ended, and at the spot they stopped was, of course, a man. That man was the creepy faced, black haired, slanted eyes man that put them behind the aforementioned bars. Osmond Denwald, the dark wizard of Devil's Requiem.

"You…"

"What a nasty face that is, Juvia Lockser. I take that to mean you're not happy to see me?" Juvia glared at the man that had knocked her out so easily, and that had killed his own teammate.

"No. Juvia isn't happy to see you at all."

"I see. What a shame."

"Mind telling Juvia why Juvia and Lisanna are here?"

"You're asking your captors why they capped you in the first place? I thought it was fairly obvious."

"Tell Juvia now!"

"Pushy? Very well, Juvia Lockser. I have taken you and your friend for a single reason. Money."

"Money?"

"Yes. You see, we, as a dark guild, receive jobs from certain parties that need something done. Something they are willing to pay for, but that wouldn't be approved by the Magic Council. Most of these jobs are assassinations, but sometimes they're a bit funner." A small smile played on his lips. "Sometimes, on rare occasions, we get the order to acquire a fine looking specimen to deliver to a special place out of the country."

"What place?"

"His name, I cannot say. But he's quite interested in… pretty young girls to clean his mansion." Juvia's eyes went wide. "That's right. In short, you'll be a slave, both for cleaning and _other_ services." The dark wizard began to laugh like a mad man at the thought.

"You… EVIL MAN!" Juvia stood up in the small cage and threw her arm forward at Osmond. "Water Jet!" She tried to blast a stream of water at the man, but nothing happened. "What…?"

"Nice try. But right now, you're under the influence of a Shadow Field. The magic that can be cast inside of or into… is mine." He lifted his own arm and shot a black light at Juvia, who was sent crashing into the stone wall by the blast. After hitting the wall, she fell to the ground. "I suggest you be quiet while you wait. You'll be there for a while."

-Following Team Natsu's Wagon-

The sun was beginning to rise again, and Natsu, Erza, Grey, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla were already on the move. They had only been at their makeshift camp for about four hours before deciding to set off again. Well, the 'deciding' was done by Erza, with a loud air horn. It didn't bother Natsu, who hadn't been asleep at all, but the rest of them were pretty annoyed.

But skipping all that, the team was now making their way once more, the destination the same.

Erza, who was once again in the driver's seat, looked back inside of the wagon. The six of her friends were still carrying on, except for Wendy, who had fallen asleep.

'_It's only natural… Wendy is still young. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to wake her up so early. But…'_ She looked back at Natsu, who was, once again, leaned out of the small window next to his seat. '_He probably wants to get there as fast as he can.'_

"Let me off of this thing…"

'_Or not…'_

"Natsu, be quiet. You might wake Wendy up. And I told you not to keep your head in here if you're gonna puke!"

"Shad… app… Grey…"

"Can't even get out a good comeback, huh?" Grey looked out of his own window, which didn't have much of a sight. The side of the wagon he was on was close to the nearby mountain that they were coincidentally using for cover as they made their way to the dark wizard's guild hall. "Hey, Erza. How much longer?"

"About seven hours."

'_That's still a good bit… Hopefully this idiot's travel sickness keeps him occupied until then.'_ They were getting ever so closer to their friends, and Grey was getting anxious to pound somebody into the dust. Namely, the man that beat him with such ease, and then beat Natsu with the same ease.

"Somebody kill me…"

"Natsu. Come here." Erza placed her finger on the empty seat next to her, and Natsu began to get out of own seat. Slowly crawling past Wendy and Lucy, he pulled himself up into the seat next to the red-haired wizard. As soon as he sat down, his head began to fall to the side. "Nope." Erza grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up straight. Then, she gave him a hard punch to the gut; with an armored glove no less.

With on quick grunt, Natsu fell unconscious and his head fell into his attacker's lap.

"Now. Keep quiet."

"I don't think he has a choice, Erza."

"Aye, sir." Lucy smiled to herself upon seeing the usual shenanigans of her fellow guild members, despite knowing that it would soon end. She knew, just like everybody else, that everything would soon go to hell. It would be another all-out war, like the time Phantom Lord declared war on Fairy Tail.

She saw it just like everyone else did. The dark guild kidnapping two of their members was a declaration of war. A declaration she was sure they would accept.

'_Although, right now… It's just the seven of us. And despite what Erza says, I'm sure that the rest of the guild will show up to fight alongside us.'_

"Lucy. Cheer up." Lucy's smile was broken by the sound of Grey's voice. "It'll all be over quickly, and we can go back to the guild." Lucy nodded, though she wasn't quite sure who he was trying to reassure; her or himself. But as they got closer and closer, she began to feel anxious.

"Still… it is a bit frightening, isn't it?"

"Hmm? What d'ya mean?"

"Well… The only real information we have on them is where they're located, right?" Erza nodded.

"Apparently, Grey and Natsu know one of the member's powers to some extent, but…"

"All I know is that he uses some strange magic cancellation spells. But he can attack too. I'm not really sure about it."

"Grey, wasn't there another man that you fought?"

"Uh, yeah… Jeremiah Loust? I wouldn't worry too much about him, though. Natsu beat him in mere minutes. It's _him_ that I want…" Grey began to think about the creepy-faced man that overpowered him so easily again, and the thoughts only made him angry. There was a small yawn from inside the carriage, which made everyone jump a little because of the tension.

"Oh, Wendy. You're awake."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I feel asleep!"

"Don't apologize, Wendy! You're young and need your rest!" Carla scolded her again, and the wagon's atmosphere returned to normal.

"Oh, where's Natsu-san?"

"Up with Erza. He's, uh… taking a nap…"

"Aye, sir!"

"Oh, well… I'll cast a Troia then." Wendy gently picked up Carla, who was sitting in her lap, and placed her on the seat next to Lucy. Then, she stood up and turned to the unconscious Natsu, placing her hands over his chest. A small, light blue magic circle appeared under her hands and began to rouse Natsu from his forced sleep upon Erza's legs. As he sat up, he looked around, seemingly confused with what had just happened. "Good morning, Natsu-san."

"Hmm? Oh, Wendy… Did you cast a Troia?" The blue-haired Dragon Slayer smiled and nodded, to which Natsu smiled back. "Thanks, Wendy." Natsu looked around for about a second until he saw Erza sitting next to him. "Uh, Erza. When did I get up here?"

"Don't worry about that right now. We're almost there." Natsu sat up straight in the front seat and looked forward. "Still… That spell is amazing. To make even Natsu be able to stand transportation."

"How much longer?" Erza looked at her friend with a concerned look, but quickly went back to her normal face and answered.

"Ten minutes… maximum." Natsu began to get fidgety as he sat, trying to keep his anger in check.

'_I'm coming for you… Lisanna.'_

-Devil's Requiem Guild Hall-

Juvia and Lisanna sat in the small cage they had been confined to, waiting for… they didn't know. Juvia was awake again after being knocked unconscious by Osmond's attack. Lisanna, however, was still out cold. Outside the room were two guards dressed in nearly the same attire as the other three members Juvia had seen in Fogsburg.

'_Juvia needs to find a way out of here…'_ As she started to ponder possible ways out, she heard something groaning near her; something she could assume was Lisanna. "Ah, Lisanna!"

"Hmm…" Lisanna slowly propped herself up onto her arms, the rest of her body in a slight fetal position. "Juvia?" Juvia instantly crawled over to her newly awakened friend.

"Oh, Lisanna!" She hugged her in a tight, very sudden hug. "Juvia is so glad you're okay!"

"Um… Thanks. I guess… we're in a bad situation?" Juvia released her hug and grew a serious face.

"Yes… You and Juvia are being held captive by the dark guild wizards, an…" Juvia was cut short by an extremely loud explosion coming from very close to the building. "Whoa! What was that!?" Lisanna only smiled and gave a small laugh.

"I think… I know."

-The Front Door Of The Guild Hall-

The large, wooden door that made up the entrance of Devil's Requiem's guild hall flew from its oversized hinges and landed in the middle of the massive entrance area.

"What the hell was that!?"

"What's going on?"

"A Council Raid!?"

"Heh." A large smile stretched across the face of a very upset Dragon Slayer. "You WISH we the Council." The unknown man threw his hands together, creating a giant, red magic circle.

"Wait… I know who that is! He's…!"

"FIRE DRAGON…"

"He's the Salamander of Fairy Tail!"

"ROOOOOOOOOOOAAARAAR!" The massive jet of orange flames blasted forward from Natsu's mouth, covering the entire area in the magical fire. With only one attack, Natsu had reduced a majority of the room to ash.

"Damn… is he a monster!?"

"Where…. Is my Nakama?" Natsu's smile faded, and was replaced by an extremely pissed expression, that shook the very souls of the members of dark guild with pure fear.

* * *

Natsu's anger can only be expressed in picture, but I did my best. You get the idea, right, Fandom? Those epic f*cking eyes, and that amazing... darkness he has around his face. Gaaahaah... -NerdGasm- Natsu is such a beast. Next Chapter: The dang title comes to light! WOW. The title had a point!? USO. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Fandom. Until Next Time~

(Side Note: Due To Me And My Addiction To Video Games... The Ending "Boss" Fight Might Have A Certain... Vibe. To It That 75% Of You Will Hate. A Lot. But... GET OVER IT -SMILEY FACE-.


	7. An Invitation To Mourn Death's Passing

Hello once again, Fandom! We ended last Chapter on a semi-positive note - With Natsu kicking down the doors of Devil's Requiem and preceding to kick. Total. Ass. We shall now pick up where we left off with Chapter 7. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 7: An Invitation To Mourn The Passing Of Death**

"Fire Dragon IRON TALON!" Natsu swung his fist around, making the flames of his attack whip around the room and crash into five different men, all of whom flew across said room and into a wall. "Where's Lisanna and Juvia!?"

"Don't back down, guys! He can't take us all on at once!"

"Yeah, he's just one man!"

"I BEG TO DIFFER!" Natsu leapt at one of them, his entire body encircled by fire, and slammed his fist down onto his face. Each one of the other men reacted by casting one type of magic attack or another at him, all of which failed miserably. "Fire Dragon… ROOOOOOAAAAR!" The flames spread out across the room with one swift motion from the man spitting them and wiped out all of the members if dark guild present.

"Natsu. Leave a couple for me."

"Light Burst!"

"Ice Make: SAUCER!" Grey's attack cut straight through the attack of the man who fired a beam of light magic towards Natsu, and then sent him flying into a nearby wall. "Natsu! Go find Lisanna and Juvia!" Natsu nodded, and ran up the steps across the room from the door, running past all of the unconscious wizards he and Grey had just wiped the floor with. '_Natsu's sense of smell is strong… so he should be to find them.'_

"Grey. Where's Natsu?" Erza walked in the empty doorway behind Grey.

"Oh, Erza. He went on ahead. I get the feeling there's more people coming."

"Then why don't you go with h-" There was a loud explosion above the steps as the wall shattered. Out of that new hole, a familiar face appeared.

"Well, well…" The man who stepped from the hole he had made kicked some of the injured men to the side to make room for him to walk. "I was afraid of this… Looks like the Fairies found us. But it seems like they've only brought a few new people with them." The man took a few more steps until he was standing at the top of the steps. "How boring."

"Jeremiah Loust."

"Hello, Grey. Nice to see you again."

"The feeling ain't mutual."

"Tell me something, Fairy. Did you really think bringing a couple more people would help you defeat Lord Osmond?" Grey let out a smug breath.

"Sorry, pal, but I think Natsu could wipe your whole guild out single handedly." The two men smiled, each of them ready for a fight at any minute.

"Grey. Let me fight him." Erza stepped forward, a sword forming from thin air in her hand. "Go with Natsu."

"Erza…"

-Flashback, Fairy Tail Guild Hall-

"Grey." Erza walked over to the black-haired ice wizard, her eyes filled with the slightest hint of worry. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah… What's up?"

"It's about Juvia." Grey looked around the guild hall, looking for the water wizard.

"What? Is she out on a job? I haven't seen her since we came back."

"No… It's not that. When you left to go to Fogsburg…" Grey looked at his friend with interest. "She decided to follow you." Grey was struck by shock; he figured out what she meant immediately. "That means that the battle that Natsu sent Lisanna to go check out… she was most likely involved in it."

"I… see. Oh yeah… There's something I need to tell you too…"

-End Flashback-

Grey's words rang in the back of her head, and they had been the entire trip. She had been waiting for this moment.

"_The first guy me and Natsu fought… He had this strange magic; something I've never seen before. He called it 'Copy Magic', the ability to steal magic. But for some reason… He could use Jellal's magic. Heavenly Body."_

'_This is the man. The one that used Jellal's magic.'_ Grey smiled as he looked at Erza's serious expression. She gave off the normal feeling she had since he met her; a scary one.

"Okay. You got it, Erza." Grey began to run up the steps, chasing after Natsu.

"Oh, so you're just going to ignore me? I don't…" Jeremiah took a step forward, but was stopped by a sword. One that appeared from thin air in front of his neck. He moved his eyes - which were now the size of baseballs - down to Erza, who held her hand outwards. '_Requip Magic…?'_

"Hey. Dark Wizard." Grey stopped at the top of the steps, only a few feet from Jeremiah. "I told you that Natsu could wipe out your entire guild alone, right?" He shifted his gaze back to Grey. "Well, I stand by that, but Erza down there? She's stronger than Natsu is." He smiled before running off out of the annoyed man's sight. When he had finally disappeared, Erza dispelled the sword.

"So…" He turned towards Erza and frowned as he made his way down the steps. "I guess you're the one they call Erza Scarlet." Erza didn't respond, so he continued. "Or do you prefer Titania, Queen of the Fairies?"

"I don't have a preference. If you want, you can just call me your Grim Reaper."

"Oh, scary. As expected from someone with your reputation."

"You're the man that uses Copy Magic, correct?" Erza's gaze remained unmoving, like she was trying not to show any emotion.

"You can just call me Jeremiah."

"Tell me something. How is it that you can use the Heavenly Body magic?"

"Curios, are we, Titania?"

'_Grey said he copied Jellal's by seeing it. But I know better than that. Copy Magic can't activate unless you're in direct contact with the magic. So how could he possibly…?'_

"I'll tell you the same thing I told your Ice Make friend. My Copy Magic doesn't forget a magic it sees."

'_I didn't think he'd come right out and tell me. He knows who I am, which means he probably knows about my past. I'll have to trick him.'_

"I'll tell you what, Erza Scarlet. Let's make it fun." Jeremiah lifted his hand in a kind of taunt and smiled. Why don't we pit all the magic I've ever acquired against the famous Titania!?"

Without hesitation, Erza launched at Jeremiah, a large sword forming in her hand. The sheer speed of her charge threw him off guard, and he was sent flying backwards by her attack after putting his arms up in defense. As he caught his balance, the Requip mage was already in front of him, ready for another powerful attack.

'_Damn!'_ "Fire Dragon Iron Talon!" Jeremiah swing his fist forward as it set ablaze, striking it against the cold metal of Erza's blade. After successfully blocking the attack, he followed up with a powerful kick to knock his opponent away. "Shadow Barrage!"

After he put a little distance between them, he threw his arm forward, summoning a black magic circle that produced multiple black fists. They all flailed towards Erza, but before they could get to her, she moved. But it was less like moving, and more like warping.

"What the hell!?"

"Thanks. Wendy." Standing at the bottom of the steps, holding her hands up, was the small, blue-haired Sky Dragon.

"Sky Magic: Arms. Armor. Vernier." Her hands glowed with a light blue light with each word she said, and at the same time, Erza glowed with the same light. "Erza-san, you're good to go."

"Requip: Heaven's Wheel." Erza's body got wrapped in a bright light as her clothes dispersed, and got replaced with her Knight's Armor. After the Requip had been completed, she spread her arms out, summoning forth twenty identical blades. "Dance, my blades." She thrust her left hand forward, making the swords around her fly at Jeremiah.

"NICE TRY! Heavenly Body Magic: METEOR!" The same eerie light covered his body as he flew out of the way with extreme speed. "Death Magic…" Still in the air, Jeremiah thrust his arms forward, creating a dark red magic circle. "Try this… ERUPTION!" An intense light began to shine, and soon after, an enormous jet of lava shot out of the circle, headed straight for Erza."

"Open. Gate of the Scorpion. Scorpio!" In an instant, the jet of lava stopped in its non-existent tracks by a jet of a different kind. Standing in front of Erza was a tall man on all fours, spouting sand from his tail.

"Oh yeah! My Sand Buster can stop anything!"

"Damn! Quit… INTERFERING!" Jeremiah set his attention to the blonde wizard that summoned the scorpion-like man, raising his hand in the position for Grand Chariot. "I'll teach you!"

"Lucy! MOVE!" Lucy didn't have time to react before the lightning fast attack shot towards her. But before it struck her, Happy flew in from behind and took her into the air.

"Uh? Happy! Thank you."

"No problem, Luce!" Smiling at her friend's safety, Erza turned to Wendy.

"Wendy, Lucy! Go find Natsu and Grey, they're going to need all the help they can get."

"But what about you, Erza?" The Requip mage stared at her opponent his a fear striking gaze.

"I'll be just fine."

"Aye, sir!" At her command, Happy carried Lucy up the steps, past Erza and Jeremiah, and down the hallway. Soon after, Wendy, being carried by Carla, flew by as well.

"Protecting your friends?" Jeremiah smiled back at Erza's glare. "Or do you honestly think you don't need help to beat me?"

"I'll take my chances." All alone, the two were now locked in a kind of staring contest. Each of them unwilling to make the first move, for the one who did had a good chance of losing the battle. '_His Copy Magic is going to be hard to get around… But since he hasn't done it yet, maybe…'_

'_Titania Erza, the strongest woman wizard in Fairy Tail. Jellal's…'_

-Following Natsu-

He kept running down the thin halls of the building, trusting nothing but his nose to give him directions. Men kept pouring in all around him, but as they tried to stop him, they were blasted back by intense flames. Each one of them crashed into walls, or miscellaneous objects, or the floor, since none of them stood even half a chance against the rampaging dragon.

"What… is this guy?"

"Where are they!?" Natsu's rage level was going to a breaking point, and rather rapidly. "Where's my Nakama!?" Another group of the dark wizards rushed him, but they were all swept aside by one swift, fire powered kick. Meanwhile, only about twenty feet behind, Grey was following.

'_Man, he's really going over the top. But at this rate…'_ Grey flashed back to Fogsburg, when he and Natsu fought Jeremiah. Natsu had used up so much magic energy fighting him that, even after eating a considerable amount of fire, he was almost completely drained. Then, like an idiot, he wasted the last of his power trying to break through Osmond's Shadow Field barrier. '_We both need to conserve our magic for that guy. I'm sure he's sending these half-wits at us just so we're weakened, but…'_

"You're making a huge mistake in underestimating me!" Grey looked at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer ahead of him in surprise, but then quickly changed his expression to a wide grin.

'_My thoughts exactly, Natsu.'_

"Fire Dragon… ROOOOOOAAAAAR!" Natsu unleashed his fiery breath, making the entire section of the dark wizards' guild hall explode in flames. Grey, in a desperate attempt to dodge the attack, dived down to the ground.

"But you're still going way over the top!"

-With Lisanna and Juvia-

"Come… ON!" Juvia repeatedly kicked the door to the metal wall which separated her and Lisanna from freedom. "Just break, already!" Juvia had decided that, since her and Lisanna's guards left to find the intruders, she would take the opportunity to try and free them. "If only we could use magic…"

"Juvia…" Juvia looked back at the girl who was still sitting idly by on the floor. "It's okay. I know he's coming to find us." She smiled, though her face was wrought with tears. "He always has before…"

"Lisanna…"

-With Natsu and Grey-

"Tell me where they are!" Natsu was relentless, each of his attacks utilizing his full power. At this point, over half of the wizards that he labeled as 'enemy' were unconscious due to his onslaught.

"He has to be weak by now! Take him down!" The ones that weren't knocked out gave themselves petty self-reassurance, like telling their fellow wizards that he had used up most of his energy, or that ganging up on him would be enough, or even going as far as to try and pull off a sneak attack, in which case they were smashed from behind by Grey's ice magic.

No matter what they tried they couldn't get past Natsu's unbelievable power and magic energy. And there was someone who knew that. Someone… who was beginning to get frightened by his incoming opponent's said power and magic energy, even if his face didn't show it.

"Natsu Dragneel… The 'son' of Igneel, the mighty fire dragon. You possess such large reserves of magic on any normal day, but you can increase it simply be being enraged?" The nervous tapping of fingers on wood sounded inside the small room where the man sat. "Do you really intend to make a mockery of…!?"

He was interrupted by another picture, separate from the one that showed Natsu and Grey running through the halls. The one that caught his attention was the sight of two girls be carried by cats, something he found very intriguing.

"And who might you two be…?"

-Following Lucy, Happy, Wendy, and Carla-

"Lucy…" The small, blue cat began wavering in the air, like he was struggling to support the blonde wizard.

"Uh… Happy? What's wrong?"

"You're so…" His look of struggle turned into a playful smile. "Heavy."

_Wow!_

"NOBODY ASKED YOU TO CARRY ME THIS FAR YA DAMN FURBALL!" At this, Happy dropped his friend upon the ground and cowered in fear.

"Lucy is scary!"

"Come one, you two!" Carla, who was still carrying Wendy, snapped at the two of them. "This isn't the time to be playing around!"

"Carla is scary, too."

'_But Natsu seriously does go overboard when he's angry…'_ Lucy looked above at the ceiling that had been blasted straight through by Natsu's magic. The sky could be clearly seen through the massive hole he created. "I think…" Ignoring Carla's yelling at Happy, Lucy began to speak. "We need to find Natsu."

"Huh? Lucy-san?"

"If we don't… he might do something stupid."

"Stupid people do stupid things, Lucy."

"You're right Lucy-san. Let's go Carla." Carla nodded and began to fly forward.

"Come on, Happy. Let's go."

"Aye, sir!" Lucy and Happy began to follow after their two friends, but before any of them could go very far, he came out of the Shadows. He stood where he could not be seen, and let his attack consume them.

"Shadow Magic: Blood-Sucking Rose Thorns."

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Starting good, ending bad. Natsu and Grey are far ahead in the building, and Erza is still at the entrance fighting Jeremiah. And with the rest of Team Natsu in the middle, the dark wizard appears. What is this mysterious attack he has unleashed, and what's going to happen to the girls and the cats!? Why am I asking _you_!? Well, stay tuned to find out. Er... Stay... Reading... WHATEVER. Until Next Time~


	8. Devil: Requiem for the Devil

Hello, Fandom! Welcome to the newest Chapter of my little story. Don't got much to say, so we'll just get started! Chapter 8. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 8: Devil: Requiem for the Devil**

"SEVEN STARRED SWORD!" Jeremiah jumped back using his stolen magic, putting distance between him and his opponent. "GRAND CHARIOT!" Seven magic circles appeared in front of his body and were connected by a golden line to form a symbol to resemble the big dipper. They flashed, and each of them exploded with immense power, firing the attack towards the Requip mage. As the attack exploded around her, Jeremiah placed his feet back on the ground. "That should do it…"

"Wrong." The dust settled, and revealed an unharmed Erza Scarlet wearing a shiny, blue and silver armor, which covered her entire body. "My Adamantine armor can withstand any attack; and falling stars are no exception."

"You're… ARROGANT! METEOR!" Jeremiah was no longer amused with the fight like he seemed to be earlier. He launched towards Erza with the Meteor spell while his fists ignited in Natsu's fire. "FIRE DRAGON'S CRUSHING FANG!" One after the other, he arced his arms, swinging at Erza with all of his might.

Despite his flurry off attacks, Erza kept a steady rate of defense, swinging each of her shields in succession to match the movements of Jeremiah's fists while taking a step back with each punch. After the attack ended, Jeremiah landed and cupped his hands.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" He blasted Natsu's ranged breath attack standing right in front of his target, making contact instantly. However, despite looks once again, Erza was unharmed. "What…?" Erza stood in the dark red and orange outfit with her hair done up in twin-tails. _'How can she… Requip that fast!?'_

"Flame Empress Armor…" Erza lifted her sword slowly into the air, spontaneously making it envelop with bright orange light. As it surrounded the blade, it sparked into flames. "Flame Slash." Still dumbfounded from the mage's skill, Jeremiah couldn't move. Erza swung her enflamed blade down in a circular motion with an average speed, making direct contact with the man's side. Not being able to defend, or move at all, Jeremiah was launched across the room.

"Da… Damn you…" Jeremiah tried to pick himself up as he glared at Erza from his new found spot on the ground.

"I'll tell you what, Copy mage. Let's make this interesting. I'll only use my Flame Empress sword from here on out."

"What?"

"Wanna play my game? I'll only attack with hand-to-hand sword techniques and fire magic. That should be easy to defend against, right?"

"What are you…?"

"Why not copy my magic, and Requip into the Flame Emperor armor?" Jeremiah's eyes went wide. "Or… is it that you can't?"

"Quiet you!" The beaten man began to stand. "My magic can copy anything!" Erza quietly walked towards Jeremiah as he struggled to stand, her sword once again gathering the strange orange light.

"Then do it." Erza's eyes flashed with anger as she lifted her sword again, ready for another attack.

-Following Natsu and Grey-

It was quiet. Abnormally quiet since Natsu was still well within earshot. The only sounds that now protruded the empty halls were the sound of the two wizard's footsteps along the corridors.

_'It finally seems like they've given up. Either that or Natsu beat em all already; and that wouldn't surprise me one bit.'_ Grey looked ahead at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer, who still looked too serious for his own good. "Natsu! Have you found any trace of em yet?"

"No…" Natsu put his head back into the air, like he was sniffing for them. After a couple seconds he looked back at Grey and pointed at his nose. "All the different people and magic around here are really jamming my nose up, I can't tell the difference."

"Well that sucks."

"But… I've been picking up a familiar scent. Up until about ten minutes ago… it was dead ahead of us, and then it disappeared." Grey looked at Natsu, obviously intrigued with the latter's explanation.

"Who is it?"

"That should be obvious, right?" Grey's eyes flashed with excitement.

"Then we should go find him!"

"No. The girls come first. Besides, I can't find him anyway. He mixed in with the other scents." Despite his priorities, Grey could tell Natsu was just as unhappy about it as he was. Grey knew that deep in the Fire Dragon's soul, he wanted revenge. And he wanted it badly.

-With Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla-

Lucy opened her eyes, slowly taking in the intense brightness that shrouded the room she was in. She began to pick herself up, but found that she couldn't get the strength to lift her own body. In fact, she couldn't even move her own arms and legs.

"I can't move!"

"Very sorry, miss. That would be a side effect of the Rose Thorns." Lucy, shocked at the voice, moved her head to the side to see a man with jet-black hair sitting upon what looked like a counter. One leg hung off the side and the other was bent to rest on top of it. His body was turned to face a small window behind him, so only one side of his face was visible.

"W-Who are you!?" The man moved his eye to make direct eye-contact with her, a small frown at his lips.

"Oh, yes. My name is Osmond. Osmond Denwald." Lucy's eyes went wide at the sound of his name.

"Denwald? You're the guy that took Lisanna and Juvia!" Osmond moved his eyes back to the window, seemingly ignoring Lucy's accusation. "Tell me where they are!"

"I thought you'd be more worried about the people and animals you came in with, Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy suddenly remembered what had happened.

"Wendy!"

"Don't worry." Without looking away from the window, Osmond pointed behind her. "You're unharmed, and they are as well." Lucy turned her head to the opposite side to see her friends asleep on the ground. "It was difficult to drain her magic power… I'm not sure why."

"Uh? Drain her magic power?"

"Yes… I had a difficult time with her. Even after I had knocked you and the cats unconscious, she struggled against my magic." His gaze moved around again until it fell upon Wendy. _'Wendy Marvell. The daughter of Grandine…'_

"Hey you!" Osmond's thoughts were interrupted by Lucy's shouting. "What do you want with us?"

"Your friend, Natsu Dragneel. You believe him to be strong, correct?" Lucy smiled.

"Yeah, he's strong alright. Stronger than you could ever hope to be!"

"I see." Osmond continued to look out the window, a melancholy look in his eyes. Then, he sneered. "Ridiculous."

_'What is with this guy? He seems so interested in Natsu.'_

-With Lisanna and Juvia-

Juvia and Lisanna sat in the small cell, neither of them willing to talk. Realizing that it was futile to even try, Juvia had given up on getting out of the cage by using brute force. As strong as she was, she wasn't getting out without magic.

"Ya know…" Juvia looked over at the white-haired girl as she began to suddenly talk. "One time… We were fishing." Juvia looked at Lisanna in surprise, not knowing what she was talking about. "Me, Natsu, and Happy, that is. Happy kept pestering Natsu to catch him a really big fish, but we only caught small ones."

"Lisanna…"

"After we cooked the fish… I found some big footprints, and thought they might be from Igneel. I was so happy because I thought I could finally help Natsu. Looking back, it would've been weird seeing a gigantic dragon roaming East forest; I was still real young. Natsu realized that they were a Gorian's tracks and we left the forest to go home. But it was real dark and foggy, and I ended up getting separated from Natsu and Happy, and a Gorian that Natsu beat up after it stole something from us found me."

"What happened?" Lisanna looked up at Juvia, who was oddly quiet, and smiled.

"Eventually, Natsu found me, and challenged the Gorian, but it told him to bow down and apologize or he would hurt me. I expected him to do what he always did, and just go blindly into a fit of rage, but… He actually got onto his knees. Can you imagine? Someone as hard-headed and proud as Natsu kneeling in forgiveness?" Juvia tried her hardest, but honestly could not. "The Gorian began to stomp on Natsu repeatedly, even though he was defenseless, and then picked up a giant rock to crush him with. Right when he was about to hit him with it, Gildarts stepped in and saved the both of us."

"Uh… What?" Juvia was dumbfounded, and Lisanna laughed to herself at Juvia's questioning of the story.

"I know, he didn't really help at all, but… He came for me. And he promised."

_"Hey... If I disappear again sometime... Will you come and find me, Natsu?"_ The short scene played in Lisanna's mind as she thought back to the question she asked Natsu so many years ago.

"And then… when the Anima took me to Edolas…" Juvia's eyes widened as Lisanna began to sob, tears streaming down her face. "I was gone for so long… And he still came and found me… So I know!" Despite the immense amount of tears, Lisanna smiled at Juvia with a wide grin. "I know he'll come and find me!"

"LISANNA!" Just as she finished her story, the not-very-distinct sound of doors being blast off of their hinges by a massive blast of Fire Dragon Slayer magic came from down the hallway and, soon after, the sound of two pairs of feet running down the hallway until… "Lisanna!" Natsu and Grey stood in the doorway leading to the cage.

"Natsu!" Lisanna stood up in joy, and was soon followed by Juvia.

"Grey-sama! You came for Juvia!" And let the crazy thoughts begin… _'Juvia, my princess, I've come to save you! Now, let us go forth and be married as soon as possible!'_ As Juvia wallowed in her psychotic thoughts, reality progressed as normal. Natsu ran to the cage door and began to ignite his hand with fire.

"Fire Dragons… IRON TALON!" He swung his fist around to punch the doors off, but he couldn't. The flames that surrounded his hand disappeared milliseconds before he made contact, making him punch cold steel. A moment later, he was rolling on the floor in pain. "I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm fine!"

"I guess we should've told you that you can't use magic in or on the cage, huh?"

"Anyway." Ignoring Natsu annoying whining, Grey stepped into the room. "We can't use magic on it, doesn't mean we can't _use_ magic on it." Grey, hurrying to clarify his statement, put his hand together. "Ice Make: Pick and Screwdriver!" The blue mist that surrounded his hands formed into replicas of tools that thieves used to break into homes, and he got to work picking the lock immediately.

"Ah, I see! Molding Magic won't be dispelled!"

_'I probably shouldn't tell them that I learned it from watching Natsu break into Lucy's apartment…'_

"That's my Grey-sama!" Juvia jumped for love as the door swung open, and then she jumped on Grey. "Oh, Grey-sama! Juvia is so happy!"

"Whoa! Get offa me, woman!" As Grey struggled to get Juvia off of him, Natsu stood up and walked inside of the small cage to a still sitting Lisanna. Upon reaching her, he sat down at her side.

"Lisanna, I…"

"No… It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"That's not how I see it… If I hadn't told you to go, I could've…" Lisanna looked to her side to see tears beginning to fall down his face.

"Natsu." Natsu looked at his friend through his tears as she placed her hand on his cheek, wiping away his tears with her thumb. "We can't change the past. What matters now is the future; the here and now. Our feelings won't change what we've done, but they can help what we will do."

"Lisan-" Lisanna leaned her head forward, gently placing her lips against Natsu's. Caught off guard, and quite dumbfounded, Natsu only had enough time for his brain to overload before she stood up and held her hand out.

"Come on, Natsu. Let's… go home."

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If only all of this was thought up by Hiro Mashima before he started the Tenrou arc... Oh well, his loss, my story! Of course... that just means it's not canon...Oh well, my loss, CueCue. How'd you like those last few paragraphs? Pretty awsome, ne? Yeah, I've been waiting to do that! Anyway... See you on the newest Chapter, Fandom. Until Next Time~

(Side Note: This Chapter's Title Is A Play On The Name Of A Poular Anime Series, "Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom". I Figured It Fit Since It Had Requiem In It... But Seriously, I'm Done Using Puns On The Dark Guilds Name As Titles!)


	9. Erza Versus Jeremiah

Hello, Fandom! Bit of a short Chapter this week, so I apologize, but I _really_ wanted to wrap this fight up so I could progress through the story. So let's get this over with! Chapter 9. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 9: Erza Versus Jeremiah**

"My… magic… IS INFINITE!" Jeremiah stood as his entire body exploded with raw magical power, making Erza step backwards out of shock.

_'He still has this much power. He's not weak, I'll give him that much.'_ Erza pointed her sword outwards, preparing for Jeremiah's attack. "Come. Dark wizard!" With a mighty roar, Jeremiah enveloped himself in Dragon Slayer flames, combined with the eerie glow of Meteor, and rocketed towards Erza, who was too slow to block his powerful punch. "Ahh!"

"What do you think, of my combinations, Titania!? Fire Dragons…" Erza held her sword out, ready to intercept the attack with her Flame Empress armor. "FRONTIER FIST!" She couldn't see the attack coming, and didn't know what it was until it hit her. Jeremiah's hand burst out with fire, but was quickly incased in ice, doubling the power of the attack as well as changing the magic type.

_'He made a Fire Dragon Slayer punch an ice attack!?'_ Feeling the full effects of the attack, Erza jumped back even farther, attempting to put distance between her and Jeremiah.

"Don't try to escape!"

"What!?" In his current state, Jeremiah was combining two speed increasing magic types, making him move at almost Mach speeds. "Requip!" Erza switched into the Cheetah-Print cloth armor that is the Flight Armor and dashed to the side just in time to dodge another punch that crushed the floor that would have been beneath her. _'All of the magic he possesses allows him to combine powers. That might be more of a problem.'_

"What's wrong, Titania!? Only able to run away now that…" Jeremiah leapt towards her, fist ablaze and frozen at the same time. "The table have turned!?" The dark wizard threw his arm outwards, pointing his pointer and middle fingers at Erza. "Dark Capriccio!" The massive string of green light wrapped in swirls of orange light fired from his fingers, and rammed Erza directly.

"Gah!" Erza was launched sideways from the attack, only to be stopped by the nearest wall. _'Damn… At this rate, I'll…'_ A purple magic circle appeared at the dark wizard's fingertips, which were outstretched towards Erza. As it appeared, she felt as if she was pinned down. _'Wait… Is this…!?'_

"Dark Burst!" The magic circle flashed once, and the area around Erza was blasted apart from a very powerful, very loud, explosion. "This ends NOW!" Jeremiah placed both arms in front of him, pointed at Erza once again, and began chanting an incantation that Erza couldn't hear. "Death Magic!"

Two pitch black orbs formed in the palm of his hands, each one of them growing at a rapid rate. As they grew, the air around them turned black and got sucked into them, as if they were growing on the air alone.

"Let the body of this woman return to the dust. TWIN DEATH ORB!" With a simple push from both arms, the masses of black were sent flying at Erza with immense speed, and she couldn't block it. Both of the attacks hit her full on. Injured and running out of stamina, Erza was unable to get up after the darkness spell. As such, her armor disappeared and was replaced by her simple day clothes. "Still in one piece, but still."

The twin glow of Dragon Slayer and Meteor that surrounded Jeremiah dispelled, leaving the man looking like normal and standing on his feet. As he landed, he caught his breath, and gazed at Erza.

"Is that all the great Fairy Queen has to offer?" Jeremiah lifted his hand, which began sparking with electricity. "WELL!?" He cast his arm towards her, making a bright flash of light shoot from his palm and smash into the defenseless Requip mage. He stood up straight and turned away. _'Though she did give me a heck of a lot of trouble. She took more time to deal with than I thought. I'd better return to Lord Osmond and…'_

"Heh…" Jeremiah stopped in mid-stride as he began walking towards the hallway the rest of Team Natsu had headed down before the fight as he heard his seemingly unconscious opponent make a noise. It was almost like a laugh. "You think that… is enough to take me down?" Erza began standing up, though she looked considerably weaker than before.

"No… How can you move!?" Erza simply smiled and began to brush herself off.

"You must not know what it's like, Jeremiah Loust."

"What…?"

"How could you? A dark guild isn't in any way like a legal guild. Things are done differently here. So you can't possibly know what it's like… to feel regret." Erza's smile remained, though a very sad look reflected in her eyes. "This battle has already been decided. It has been from the very instant _he_ stepped into this building. Because he probably knows better than anyone, what it means to fight your friends."

"No! You're wrong! Lord Osmond will crush you all with his magic!"

"A great woman once said… that there is a wall that can't be destroyed by just power. However, there is a type of power that can destroy that wall. The Power of Feelings." Erza's body began to glow and, despite her significant lack of magic power, she Requipped into the Black Wing Armor. "Natsu has already broken that wall. Because you took his Nakama from him. And what's worse… You led him to believe it was his fault."

"Grrh… STOP TALKING!" Jeremiah threw his head back, and exploded in the light of Dragon fire and Meteor once again. "I'LL CRUSH YOU MYSELF!"

"And once he finds this 'Lord Osmond', no matter how powerful he may be, Natsu's feelings will overcome that power. Then he, and the rest of your guild, will know what it means to feel… The Flames of Regret!"

-Flashback, Fairy Tail Guild-

"Erza… Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Master? Of course, sir. What is it?"

"It's about the dark guild. We found where they're hiding."

"What!? Then we should go immediately! I'll go gather everyone at once."

"Wait! About Natsu."

"Natsu?"

"I'm worried for the boy. I'm afraid that, if allowed to go, he will end up causing more trouble than good. This isn't some mission where the worst he'll get is a slap on the wrist. It's different, for him and for us. If he goes, there's a very good possibility that he will end up taking someone's life."

"So, what would have me do!? Leave him behind!? Natsu may be reckless but he's not…!"

"Calm down, Erza. While I do fear for the boy's recklessness, and think it's a bad idea, there's something else you need to hear. This man, he's… powerful. Probably more powerful than any enemy we've faced before, and Natsu may not be up to the challenge. Even so, I believe we have no choice but to send him."

"Master…?"

"For once his feelings are strong enough, he'll be able to overcome anyone, no matter how powerful. Natsu is a part of Fairy Tail, and as such knows that fighting for your friends is more important than anything. But I believe that he's known that all along, even before joining the guild. And… The power of his feelings will, in the end, take down any opponent, as long as his Nakama is in danger."

-End Flashback-

_'Master. I understand. Natsu is a member of Fairy Tail. He knows what it means to fight for the ones he loves. And so do I!'_

"HEAVENLY ARROWS!" Jeremiah threw his arms to the side, and fired multiple bursts of lights from a golden magic circle in front of him.

"Moon Flash!" Erza swept her twin swords downward in an X formation, unleashing two massive blue waves of light, which cut straight through the arrows, and took Jeremiah down with them. With a heavy scream of pain, the dark wizard was sent through the air and crashed into the floor. "This fight… is OVER!"

Jeremiah stayed on the ground, unable to move, and Erza claimed her victory over the beaten man. She raised one sword and pointed it to the sky, but soon after, collapsed only a few short feet away from the man she had beaten.

"Maybe… I overdid it?" Her armor faded away in a bright, yellow light, and was once again replaced by her day clothes. Still breathing heavily, she closed her eyes and smiled to herself. _'I leave the rest to you… My Nakama.'_

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Go Erza! Alright! So Boss. Did Ya See It? :D Erza Saying "Flames of Regret"? :D That's Right, Flames of Regret Is Natsu's Power of Feeling. Power is Flames, Feeling Is Regret. Flames of Regret! Title Equals Making Sense. Until Next Time~


	10. Power of the Sky

Hey Fandom, what's u- Huh? What's that? Last week's Chapter was too short!? Okay... How about this then... EXTRA LONG CHAPTER! Is 3.4k+ words alright? Well, alright! Let's not waste time. Chapter 10. Enjoy.

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"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

"NATSU! STOP BLOWIN THE PLACE UP!" Natsu slammed his forehead against Grey's with lightning quick reflexes.

"What'd you say, ya freaking pervert?"

"You heard me, flame brain. Quit going overboard! Or are ya too stupid to use a door?"

"I can't believe they're fighting at a time like this."

"Juvia can't either." Lisanna smiled to herself and looked around. "But, I guess we really are lost, aren't we?"

"It looks that way. These two really are useless, huh?" Natsu and Grey's petty fight stopped instantly at the mention of the word. With a simultaneous 'Useless?' both of them faded into white dust and scattered in the gentle breeze that passed through from one of the holes Natsu had just put in the roof. _'But it really is a beautiful day.'_

**Chapter 10: Power of the Sky**

"Mm… Huh? Lucy-san?" Lucy threw her head to the side in surprise as she heard the little girl begin to wake up. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Wendy! You're awake!" Wendy smiled and began to struggle, like she was trying to pick herself up. Unfortunately, just like Lucy, her magic power had been drained, and her physical stamina went with it. "Relax, don't try to overdo it."

"What happened?"

"We were knocked out by that creep that took Lisanna and Juvia." Wendy looked genuinely shocked, and she tried lifting herself up again, only to get a few centimeters off the ground and fall back down. "It's no use, he drained all of us."

"No! I have to… get up!"

"Wendy?"

"If I don't… he's going to kill Natsu-san!"

"What!"

-With Natsu, Grey, and The Girls-

Natsu shook himself out of his self-pity as a smell wafted through his nose. It came suddenly, like the source had been hiding itself up until that exact point. It was close. Dangerously close.

"Grey." With a questioning 'huh?', Grey turned his head towards the Dragon Slayer, knocking him out of his own self-pity. "He's close." Natsu's eyebrows slid down his face as he looked down the hallway. If there weren't any walls in the way, he would have been able to see the source of the newly presented smell.

"Right. What do we do about those two?" Grey lowered his voice to a whisper, and slightly tilted his head towards Juvia and Lisanna as he asked his question. Natsu looked back at the two of them talking a sighed.

"We have to get them out of here. But…"

-Back With Lucy and Wendy-

"What do you mean 'Kill Natsu'?"

"His power… He's a…" An explosion in the nearby wall cut the small girl off, and shocked the two girls. Out of the resulting dust cloud, stepped Osmond.

"Now, now, Wendy Marvell. We can't have you exposing things that don't need exposing."

"You…"

"I'm almost ready for my plan to take action. Until and after then, you will stay here." He silently smiled to himself. "Not that you have much of a choice in the matter."

"Nat… su…" All three of the people who were awake in the room were shocked by a small voice behind Wendy, and they all looked behind her to see a small, blue cat lifting himself up.

"Happy!"

"Lucy!" Happy instantly stood up and walked over to his blonde-haired friend, tears in his eyes. "Thank goodness you're safe!"

_'What!? The cat can move!? Damn that girl. Her power is affecting those around her. With her in the room, it's only a matter of time before they're all up and filled with magic power again.'_

"Hey, you brute!"

"Hmm?" Osmond broke from his thoughts at another voice that filled the room, and he looked to see that the other cat was up too, which only pissed him off even more.

"Carla!" Happy dove at the white exceed, who only pushed against his face as he got too close.

"What are you planning to do with us?"

"It would seem that the other Fairies who have stormed my home have freed my other captives." The four of them smiled at the news, but Osmond continued. "Because of this, I've lost my source of money. So after I defeat all of them, you will all become my source of money. You'll be shipped overseas to a certain buyer, and turned slaves. You two will look good in maid outfits." A shock went over Happy's face, and he stood up with tears in his eyes.

"You… monster!" He turned, the tears whipping away from his face, and pointed at Carla. "Carla would look in a maid outfit too!"

_Wow!_

"IDIOT! Don't say stuff like that!" Carla swiftly punched Happy in the jaw, knocking him off his feet, and then proceeded to beat him up.

"You won't…" Osmond and Lucy looked at Wendy, who was still trying to pick herself up. "I won't let you… hurt my friends!"

"Give up, Sky Priestess. You have no hope of…" _'What!?'_ Wendy began to stand up all the way, much to the surprise of Lucy, and the contempt of Osmond.

"You won't… HURT MY FRIENDS! SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!" Wendy unleashed her breath attack, which caught the dark wizard off guard, and made direct contact with him. He was sent sliding through the hole in the wall he had previously made, though he was still standing.

"Impossible! How can you move!?"

"Body Anomaly Reversal: Raise! Re-Raise!" Wendy's body glowed with an intense, light blue light, which dispersed itself instantly. "My Sky Dragon Slayer magic will keep me from feeling the effects of your magic drain!"

"Is that so?" Osmond held his hand outwards, facing his palm to the ground, keeping his finger bent at the knuckles. "Raise, a Sky Dragon power that negates the effects of magic used on the body. Re-Raise, a Sky Dragon power that keeps magic from placing positive or negative effects on the body. However." Osmond's hand became surrounded by a black mist, and a similar colored magic circle formed in front of him. "Shadow Field: Disruption."

The same field that generated during Grey's fight with the man formed and surrounded the room, putting Wendy, Lucy, Happy, and Carla inside of it.

"What's going on?"

"Shadow Field, an advanced Shadow magic skill that places the effects of any single Shadow attack into a wide, indispellable, range."

"Then that means…"

"You should have just stayed down, Wendy Marvell."

-Guild Hall's Main Entrance-

Red hair covered her face, blocking her vision. She tried blowing it away from her face, but only succeeded in pushing it up a few centimeters before it fell back down to her face. She laughed at her inability to even move her own hair, and just layed on the floor with a content smile. After a few minutes, however, there was a small groan behind her.

"What happened?"

"Ah, you're awake." She smiled and looked to the side to see the face of the man that she had collapsed next to. He did the same, and then placed his hand over his face, seemingly rubbing his eyes.

"Titania. I lost, didn't I?" Erza nodded, and moved her head to look at the ceiling again.

"I wouldn't say that. I'm down on the floor too."

"I know…" Erza, wondering what he was going to say, turned her head to him again. "I owe you an apology. I hid the answer from you on purpose, because I didn't want you to know. But I now know how much of a fool I've been."

"What do you mean?"

"The Tower of Heaven." Erza opened her eyes wide at the sound of the place she had been enslaved at, the place where she met Jellal. "Just like you, Erza Scarlet, I was a slave in the tower." He smiled, and began to retell the horrible memories. Memories similar to Erza's.

-Flashback, Unnamed Town-

_They came without warning… The followers of Zeref. It was the middle of the night, and I was only a little boy. I woke up when I heard screaming outside… A few minutes passed before my mother burst down my bedroom door._

"Mommy?" _She threw her arms around me, and held me tightly. I was so confused._ "Mommy, what's going on? I hear screaming…"

"It's okay. Mommy's here."

"Aw, how touching!" _Some strange men wearing masks with some strange symbol had broken in. One threw a sword, and it cut right threw my mother. I could only watch in horror as she fell to the ground. I ran. I ran as fast as I could, and I managed to get away from them._

_But when I got outside, everything had already gone to hell. All the adults lay scattered around the ground, all of them dead. It was horrible. A little kid like me couldn't comprehend it all. The guys that killed my mother caught up with me while I looked in horror at the massacre, and they hauled me away._

_I woke up in the Tower, and began my life as a slave._

-End Flashback-

"After seven long, long years… There was a slave rebellion, led by a red-haired little girl. And it eventually led to our freedom. I was so happy, so moved to tears that I was _finally_ going to get out of that wretched place. We were all going to be free from that hell. But, as we were leaving, it happened.

"The attacks on the boats…"

"That right. The same girl that had saved us, ruined our chances of leaving. That was when I met him… that bastard… Jellal." Erza's eyes opened wide at the mention of his name. She knew it was coming, but that didn't mean it wasn't a shock. Jeremiah was quite obviously angry, but we was smiling, like he was laughing at his own failure. "He was… amazing."

_'Amazing?'_

"He used some strange magic I had never seen before and killed at least three hundred of the guards." The man lifted his right arm with what little strength he had left and stared at his own palm. "It took him mere seconds to kill all of them. After that, the surviving ones bowed down to him. Eventually, the he told us that we could still use the tower, despite what that damned girl had done. We couldn't leave, but we could make it our home. We agreed."

"And why wouldn't you?" Erza chuckled to herself. "You had nowhere else to go, no means of escape. So you built a life with your fellow former slaves." Jeremiah nodded, though Erza couldn't see him.

"We had no idea what of his true intentions, but nobody questioned him. He was powerful. And he promised to give us a taste of that power."

-Flashback, Tower of Heaven-

"My fellow enjoyers of freedom!" The small, blue-haired stood on an old mining platform and shouted towards the many children. "The power that I have, you too can obtain it!" Cries of cheer and happiness rang out through the massive stone walls. "You can obtain your own power, and be strong in your own way! You will learn for yourselves to wield it. To wield… MAGIC!"

_He was younger than most of us, but he was so… inspiring. He was able to make us believe that we could learn magic, though none of us had ever shown signs of being able to before. It made me admire him so much._

"Jellal." A average-sized boy with black hair approached the smaller boy. He looked to be about thirteen, compared to Jellal who looked to be about nine or ten.

"Hmm? Oh, what's up?" Jellal turned to look at the boy who had approached him.

"I want…" The taller boy seemed shaken up, and he slowly got down on his hands and knees in front of the younger boy. "I want you to teach me!" Jellal was taken aback by the boy's sudden outburst.

"T-Teach you…?" There was a large nod from the kneeling boy.

"Yes. I… I don't know how to make my magic power come forth on my own. I'm afraid I won't be of much use… But if I had your power, I could…" His words were stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Jellal standing with his knees bent and staring into his eyes. "J-Jellal?"

"Hold still." His voice was calm and soothing, and his face was straight and filled the boy with a strange sense of comfort. Suddenly, a small golden circle appeared in front of his left eye, and he could see one on front of Jellal's left eye as well.

"What is that…?

"I call it the Draw Out." A smile appeared on Jellal's face, and it soon went to minor shock. "Wow! That's so cool!"

"Huh?" Jellal stood up and offered his hand out to the boy still on his hands and knees. He slowly took it and stood next to the small boy. "What's cool?"

"That magic! I've never… Hold on. Watch this carefully, okay?" The black haired boy nodded and watched as Jellal put his hand forward. "Okay, start out by imagining a focal point on a target, and breathe slowly." Jellal closed his eyes and took deep breaths. "Then put all your energy into your hand, and…" He opened his eyes suddenly and forced his hand forward with great force. "HEAVEN BEAMS!" Multiple golden flashes of light shot forth from his hand at extreme speed, and crashed into a nearby wall. It left the other boy in total awe. "Now you try."

"Ehhh!?" He looked at Jellal, who was smiling up at him. "I-I can't do that!"

"Just try. As long as you saw it right, you should be fine!" Jellal's smile was wide and genuine, and filled him with reassurance.

"O-Okay." He closed his eyes and took the same deep breaths before opening them. "HEAVEN BEAMS!" To his amazement, the same beams shot from his hand and crashed into the same point. "No way!" He turned to the smiling boy in shock. "Did you teach me your magic!?" Jellal shook his head and laughed.

"Nope. That's _your_ magic; Copy Magic."

"Amazing." He looked at his hand in wonderment, trying to fathom the power he had just used.

"By the way. What's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm… not really sure. I've been here seven years, so I don't know my own name." Jellal looked at him for a while before pointing at him with another smile.

"JEREMIAH!"

_After that, we all decided that Jellal was to be the leader of our new home. He seemed to be happy that we all trusted him. But it was nothing more than a lie._

-End Flashback-

"How did you escape? How in the world did you get out?" Jeremiah looked at the ceiling like he was reminiscing, and then sighed.

"Eventually, this man came. Jellal told me that he was going to get training from him, and I immediately asked to be a part of it."

"You can't mean…"

"Brain. The leader of Oracion Seis. He trained Jellal's magic to be even stronger, and I only watched. Every single spell, all the movements, all the hand signs, weapons, and martial arts. I watched them all." He clenched his fist tightly as he stared at it. "And I learned it all. But it wasn't powerful enough."

"You have to come into contact with the attack for you magic to copy it properly." He nodded again.

"He lied to me. He told me that I had to train my own magic for it to be as powerful, but he was lying. I can only produce a half power copy by seeing it. He was afraid. Afraid that someone would become more powerful than him, and he lied to me."

_'Amazing. He was even a coward back then.'_

"Eventually, I left with Brain and joined Oracion Seis. That was when I really took initiative. I picked fights with everybody, and lose on purpose just to learn more spells. After three years, the door to my own heart was closed shut, and I hated the world. I became more powerful than most of the people there, and I was tired of it. So I left the guild, too."

"What made you join Devil's Requiem?" Before he could answer, Jeremiah began spitting up blood. "Hey! What's wrong with you!" Even while coughing up his own life force, he smiled.

"Don't worry. I've had this coming for a long time."

-Wendy and Osmond-

Wendy couldn't use magic, but because of her Raise and Re-Raise, Osmond couldn't attack her with any magic to keep her down, and so he charged at her with his fists. He began to punch and kick at her, but she was able to dodge thanks to the difference in size.

"Give up, Wendy Marvell!" A creepy smile played on his lips, and he swung his leg at her as she dodged a punch. Unable to block, the small girl was sent into the massive wall-like structure of the Shadow Field. With a loud crash, she slammed into it a fell to the ground. "You can't win without magic."

Unable to get up, and unable to use magic even if she could, Lucy could only watch in horror as she fell. It was the same for Carla and Happy as well. None of them could help her.

_'Wendy… If I could just reach my keys… I might be able to help!'_

"Don't worry, Lucy-san." Lucy looked up in shock at her friend. She must have had a look on her face that told Wendy she was panicked. "I can do this." She picked herself up from the ground, and Osmond laughed.

"Come now, Wendy Marvell. I don't like to beat up little girls. Just surrender and I'll even treat your wounds. Wouldn't want your Master to have a beaten slave, right?"

"You shutup! I may not look like it, but I'm a Sky Dragon! I'm strong enough to fight!"

"Hah? Strength, huh?" Osmond held his hand outward, and raised his fingers upwards. As he did, small black lights appeared on his fingertips. "Sorry, Wendy Marvell. But there is nobody who is 'strong' in this world." He smiled and licked his lips, which sent a chill down everyone's spine.

_'How creepy.'_

_'Definitely a creep.'_

_'Aye, sir.'_

"There are those who are weak, and those who are weaker. The only ones that can be called strong, are the ones called Gods."

"Gods…?"

"Right. And as such, _I_ am one of the ones worthy of the title 'strong'. For I am a veritable God in human form." He flicked his lit up fingers forward, and five beams of light exploded forth from the lights, each one of them bending to hit Wendy directly in her midsection. "DIE, FAIRY TAIL SCUM!"

"WENDY!" The lights enveloped the Sky Dragon within seconds, and the entire area was rocked with an intense explosion which even managed to destroy the dark magic circles in the room. They shattered like glass and dispersed as they fell, leaving behind nothing but the dust cloud from his attack.

"In this world, the ones that win the fights, ARE THE ONES THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED TRUE GODS!"

"Is that so?" An familiar yet unknown voice rang out through the room, catching everyone by surprise. The four members of Fairy Tail knew the voice, but couldn't imagine why he would be there. And the leader of Devil's Requiem had no idea who it was. "If you truly believe yourself to be superior to humans, and see yourself as a God, then perhaps I should make you rethink how this world works."

The dust began to clear as it scattered in the small wind that resonated throughout the room, starting with only small portions of it. In comparison to the dust which was still slightly present, Osmond's smile had faded from his face entirely.

"Perhaps I should tell you what strength truly comes from?" As the air became more visible, the holes in the dust cloud revealed sharp black clothes, and spiky orange hair. "You may think that it comes to people who want it, or to people born with it. But I know better." The figure stood still, except for the small movement of what seemed like his arm reaching up to his face and pushing something.

_'Is that…?'_

"I know that true power can only come from…" The dust finally settled, revealing a handsome man who was pushing his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Love."

And standing there, brimming with sheer confidence, was the Stellar Spirit who led the Zodiac. It was…

Leo the Lion.

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Woah, wait, what? Is that last sentence right? I think it is. After an ending like that, the next Chapter is bound to be full of epicness, am I right? Well, I won't let you down, Fandom. I'd like to take this oppurtunity to thank the wonderful people that have been reading this little story, which I like to picture as it's own little arc that never happened. Don't you wish this was the brain chile of Hiro Mashima instead of little ol' me? I certainly do. (I think I've stated all that before...) Anywhoozle, I'm out. Until Next Time~

(Side Note: That Guy Thinks He's A God? Dang... Where's Zancrow When Ya Need Him? Too Bad He Hasn't Been Introduced In The Current Timeline I'm Running, Or I Would Have Added Him In! Okay, That's A Lie, But Wouldn't A Fic About Zancrow Be Epic!? -Wink-)


	11. Battle of the Gods - Their Own Strength

On time for about the fourth week in a row! Dang, I'm doin good! Hopefully I can keep this streak going strong all the way to the end! Chapter 11, GO! Enjoy.

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**Chapter 11: Battle of the Gods; Their Respective Strengths**

The two lay perfectly still, neither of them with more strength than what is necessary to speak. They were both injured to their breaking points, and couldn't lift a finger. But even so, Erza Scarlet tried to pick herself up and get to the other one lying behind her.

"What's wrong with you!?" Jeremiah Loust lay behind her, coughing up blood with a smile on his face.

"I said not to worry. This is simply my punishment."

"That's not good enough!"

"I met _him_ on my solitary travels." The dying man ignored the woman behind him and only kept explaining. "Osmond Denwald." Erza stopped speaking at the mention of the name. Not because she was shocked at hearing it, but because of the way it was spoken. Contradicting the way see thought Jeremiah saw this Osmond, there was disgust in his voice.

"…"

"It was only a few months after I left Oracion Seis. He sought me out in a bar I had stopped in, and challenged me to a fight. Of course, I had no idea who he was, so I just accepted. I had no idea what his deal was, so I figured I would just kill him and take his belongings for some quick Jewel. But he was… strange."

Erza remained silent, even though the man speaking continuously coughed blood.

"I attacked with powerful spells, trying to end it quickly, but he only dodged. No matter what I tried - ranged spells, power boosting spells, martial arts, melee spells - he only expertly dodged. And he wouldn't fight back." Jeremiah clicked his tongue like he was recalling something which angered him. "When I told him to fight seriously, he merely said…"

_"Fine, but don't regret saying that later."_

"A split second later, he was in front of me. He cupped his hand around my forehead, and used his other hand to point his fingers at me, and next thing I knew, I was waking up in the forest."

"He drained your magic." Jeremiah didn't say anything, but instead coughed even more blood than before. "But that doesn't explain why you're dying! It doesn't make any sense!"

"Amazing. To think that a member of a legal guild… is worried about a life as pathetic as mine."

"A life is a life!" There was a noticeable jolt in Jeremiah's body, like her yelling caught him off guard. She couldn't see it, but she could just tell that her words may have touched him. "Dark wizard or not, you're still a human being, AND I WON'T SIT HERE AND WATCH WHILE YOU DIE IN FRONT OF ME!"

Before he knew what was happening, the dark wizard who had shut his own heart away from the world, felt a stream of hot water fall from his eye.

-With Osmond and Fairy Tail-

There they stood, the leader of dark wizards and the leader of the Zodiac. The Shadow Mage and the Stellar Spirit. Osmond and Leo. In Loke's arms, was a small girl with blue hair. Her eyes closed, but her breathing was steady. She had merely fallen unconscious. Loke gently set her down next to Lucy and turned to Osmond.

"Loke! How did you-"

"I told you Lucy-sama. I'm able to enter the world using my own magic, I don't need your power to come to your aid. Like I said before, there boundary between spirits and humans is crumbling, and it's all thanks to our power. The power of love." Upon hearing this, Lucy blushed furiously and seemed to force a smile.

"N-Not that again…"

Loke did not look or even glance at her as he spoke, but instead kept his gaze focused on the man in front of him. The orange-haired man was clearly angry, due to the fact that his friends had been injured, but he only smiled. It was as if he was taunting the black-haired wizard.

"Tch." Osmond clicked his tongue in response to Loke's short speech. "Please. As if something as stupid as feelings could grant you power. If you think that your friends will grant you strength, you're sadly mistaken, Fairy." Loke's smile widened. "Only God has true power, and I will show that to you now."

"You must not know who I am, Osmond Denwald. I guess that's a point in my favor."

_'Hmph. It's true that I did extensive research on these Fairies just for this, but I don't know this one. He must be nothing more than a spirit.'_ Osmond smiled to match Loke. "Then perhaps you would care to enlighten me as to why you know who I am?"

"No, I don't think I will." Osmond's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. "A true artist won't reveal his tricks."

"Very well, Fairy. But it doesn't matter. You may think you have power, but my Shadow Magic renders all power useless." With that, Osmond stuck his skinny hand outwards once more, and summoned the black barrier-like wall. "Shadow Field: Disruption."

Loke's grin turned smug, and a small laugh escaped his breath. Without warning, without any time for his opponent to react or even flinch, the Fairy Tail wizard-turned-spirit launched at full speed at the man with dyed black hair. Amazingly, his fist exploded with a bright light, and he punched Osmond square in the nose.

"M-MAGIC!?"

_'I-Impossible!'_

"I told you, didn't I? This is the power of love!" Loke's fist separated from Osmond's face, and the latter was sent crashing into the wall with an amazing amount of force. Upon colliding with it, Osmond's body put a crater in the wall.

"G-hah!" Before he could even fall to the ground, Loke had moved underneath him, and his leg exploded in light. Osmond reacted by trying to shield himself, but it was all for naught.

Loke's light powered kick sent the dark wizard crashing into the ceiling, and then he fell to the ground. He immediately began to stand up, but it was visible that he had at least been injured because his movements were slowed.

"You… bastard… How can you use magic?" Not yet standing up all the way, Osmond moved his head to the side and glared at Loke with one eye. Loke merely held his hand up and clenched his fist.

"What? Are you telling me you actually believe your own lie? What a joke." Osmond clenched his teeth so hard it looked like he was going to crush them.

"Lie? What do you mean, Loke?"

"It's simple really. Wendy tried to tell you before he came crashing in here. His magic; he's been lying about it."

"QUIET YOU!" Osmond turned quickly and swung his fist around, but Loke caught his wrist, and countered with a simple kick to the gut, which made him fall to the ground.

"You see, it's not called 'Shadow' magic at all. That's the name he made up to get an advantage over his enemies. It's true name… is 'Black Angel' magic."

"Black… Angel? Carla stood up and looked at the man on the ground. "I've heard of that. Isn't that a Lost Magic?" Loke nodded and continued to stare at Osmond, who was doubled over on the ground with shock.

"Yeah. It's a variation of Angel magic, which grants the caster the power of the mystical servants of God. This particular variation is a mainly defensive magic that target's the opponent's magic directly. It can even be used to attack an opponent by attacking the magic in one's body directly. It's considered a God-Tier magic."

Osmond clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Knowing this, I read up on every last detail of the spells he could use, mostly on the one known as Disruption." At this point, Osmond was already standing up, and glaring back at Loke. But he didn't make a move. "Disruption doesn't drain magic, it stops the natural flow of it. Through the use of something known as 'Angel Seeds', he's able to seal off one's ability to use magic. But these seeds have one fatal flaw."

Loke raised his hand, and it began to glow with the orange light once more as he bluntly explained.

"It can be overcome with certain types of magic. Namely, magic that is powerful enough to be considered on the level of the Gods, magic that is God-Tier. This is why… my Regulus magic is able to work. Since Regulus literally is a God, his power surpasses that of an Angel, thus my magic is still usable."

At that, Osmond had just about reached his breaking point. With a mighty yell, his body erupted with a dark light that expanded until it surrounded the entire room, at which point it receded back into a thin layer of mist that engulfed his body. Then he began to laugh.

"Ha. Hahah… HAHAHAHAHA! That's quite the ingenuity, Leo the Lion! But what does it prove really?" For the first time, Loke's smile faded. "You think I have only one spell, and that when it's useless I lose? Think again! I am still a God, and I am still… POWERFUL!"

With lightning fast movements, Osmond turned the tables against the Stellar Spirit. It began with nothing more than a dash, and ended with a close-range blast of magic.

"SHADOW BEAM!" A bright, white light erupted from Osmond's hand, and flew directly into Loke's chest, making him slide back a few feet. "ANGEL EXPLOSION!" The dark mist surrounding his body began to expand once again, and this time it blew Loke back into the wall.

_'D-Damn… He's stronger than I predicted!'_

"Unlike you, Leo the Lion, whose power comes _from_ a God, my power is my own. I _AM_ THE GOD!" Now, the mist began to move on its own, forming into multiple whip-like shapes, all of which shot towards Loke. Still feeling the effects of the last attack, he couldn't move away.

Each one of them came crashing down and, with brute force alone, began to pound the spirit into the ground.

"Loke!" Lucy began to stand up to help her friend, and as she got halfway up, she pulled out a golden key. "Open! Gate of the Ram! ARIES!" In a flash of golden light, a girl with pink hair and a wool dress came into their presence.

"S-Sorry!" For whatever reason, she apologized and put her hands behind her head. "I'll help you Leo-sama!" As she said that, pink fluff began to form in her hands, but before she could attack…

"Nice try." Osmond pointed his arm towards the pink-haired spirit, and fired another blast of white light from his palm. It flew at Aries with incredible speed.

"Aries! NO!" Without warning, Lucy jumped forward and pushed Aries to the ground. But in doing so, she was directly in the way of the attack. "AAAHHHHHHH!" She was sent backwards, and flew over top of Carla and Happy, who could only look on in horror.

_'Lu-Lucy-sama…!'_ The Stellar Spirit that represented the Year of the Ram watched in shock as Lucy's body flew behind her. Then, she snapped.

"ERAH!" Aries stood up quickly and threw her hand forward in a flash, making wool expand from her hand like lighting and smash into Osmond, who obviously wasn't ready for it. It seemed as if her anxiety had disappeared, and her personality changed completely.

Being thrown from his ground, the relentless attack on Loke finally ceased, and the spirit fell to the ground. Sitting up against the wall, he looked at Aries' apparent 'transformation'.

"WOOL EXPLOSION!" Tears in her eyes, Aries threw her other hand forward, casting the same attack again. The same wool shot forth and knocked into Osmond again. Upon impact, it exploded. The ground below the dark wizard ripped to pieces as he was sent sliding away.

"Aries! Go help Lucy-sama!" Upon hearing his voice, Aries tensed up and closed her eyes as she ran to Lucy's side, tears falling from her face. _'He made her…'_ Loke clicked his tongue loudly. "Lion Brilliance! Hmph!"

With a grunt, Loke pushed the air with both hands, making a bright laser beam-like attack fire from his palm. It flew with immense speed at Osmond. But…

"Quake." With that single word, the fog around Osmond expanded and intercepted the attack.

_'What!?'_

"Explode." The dark wizard held up two fingers and pointed them at Loke. Then…

"GRAAAAAAAHHHH!" The orange-haired Stellar Spirit screamed out of sheer pain as the inside of his body began to boil. It felt like something inside of him had been grasped and ripped apart, and then set ablaze. Osmond had used Loke's own magic power against him.

Loke's entire body began shaking like he was having convulsions, and them merely fell to the ground. Osmond didn't even smile. He was beyond having fun, and was just torturing the man.

"Give up, Leo the Lion. Soon, everyone in the room will be nothing more than a corpse, and it's because of you." He held up and hand while Loke began to get on his knees. "If you had just let me knock Wendy Marvell unconscious, I would've left her alone, and everyone would live. But you've pushed me past my point of no return. Now, I'm going to kill ALL OF YOU! LOCK UP!"

Loke's body froze, but not out of any feelings of fear. There was no pain, no shock, and no loss of consciousness. It was like his bones had been frozen over with a thin layer of ice and his joints had been severed. He simply couldn't move.

_'Dammit… Lucy-sama..!'_ Loke looked towards the girl who was lying against the opposite wall and clenched his teeth. Lucy was hurt, and Aries was still crying at her side. Even Happy and Carla were letting there tears out. _'Damn… DAMMIT!'_

"Die. Black Angel Magic: Rupture." As the words left his mouth, Loke snapped as well. His body began a series of minor seizures, but he somehow ignored them and stood up with a loud roar.

He slammed the fronts of his wrists together, his hands spread away from each other and his fingers bent forward. "REGULUS IMPACT!"

A massive ray of light that took the shape of a lion's head burst forth from Loke's hands, and flew directly into the dark wizard. The attack carried his body into, and through, a wall. After that, his fell down to the ground which, coincidentally, was about seven stories below.

Loke stood in the same pose, as if he were going to fire the spell a second time, but he just stood there breathing heavily. After a couple seconds, reality set in and he ran to the massive hole he had just created. As soon as he got to it, he looked out and saw the man he sent out that hole use a spell which sent him horizontally into the building a few floors below.

"No… Uh? Lucy-sama!" He looked over to the blonde wizard who was now surrounded by Aries and the two cats. "Aries. How's she doing?" Aries didn't respond at first, prompting him to ask again. "Aries?" He bent his knees, lowering his entire body, and was shocked to see what Aries was doing.

Her cheeks were red, her breathing was shaky, and there were still tears rolling down her cheeks. She was sobbing.

"Oi, what's wrong?" He gave a forced, comforting smile, but Aries couldn't see anything through her tears.

"I-I'm so sorry, L-Leo-sama… B-B-Because of me…" Happy and Carla both looked up at the pink-haired spirit in silence, neither of them knew exactly what to say.

"Don't think that way, Aries." Before he knew what he was doing himself, Loke had wrapped Aries in a tight hug. "You of all people should know why she did that… right?" He could feel her head move in a nod on his shoulder and he pulled away and looked towards Wendy. "Carla, is Wendy alright?" Carla merely sighed.

"She'll be just fine. Honestly though, rushing into a battle she knew she couldn't win like that. She doesn't realize her own limits." She smiled through her tears and wiped her eyes.

_'It should've been obvious to everyone that Wendy wouldn't win, but still… She definitely does belong in Fairy Tail. She knows what it means to fight for your friends.'_

"Leo-sama…" Despite his comforting words that actually did have an effect, Aries continued to cry. "Will Lucy-sama be alright?" Loke directed his gaze to the blonde mage on the floor and smiled.

"Yeah, she'll be alright. Lucy-sama is tougher than she looks. For now, head on back to the spirit world, okay?"

"Eh? But what about you?"

"I thought I should just join the battle as to protect my friend, that's why I came out in the first place. But that guy…" Loke stood and began to walk towards the door behind the hole that Osmond had made when he came in. "He's made this personal."

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LOKE. LIKE A BOSS. Yes, we're going to see a bit more of Loke and his furriness later on, but he won't be the main fighter, don't worry. I know you're all dying to see Natsu beat the crap out of that creepy, dyed-black-haired, has to say everybody's full name, douche that is Osmond. Next week, we might see a bit of Natsu x Lisanna fluff, and some almost Grey x Juvia fluff, and some more of Jeremiah's past. So, look forward. Until Next Time~

(Side Note: Does Anybody Out There Even Like Jeremiah? I Enjoy Writing Scenes He's Involved In... And I'm Kind Of Giving Him The Presence Of A Former Bad Guy, Like Laxus or Jellal. Or Even Freaking Gajeel. Anyfreakingway... Tell Me What You Think Of Him In A PM Or E-mail, Or Even As Part Of A Review. Once Again, Until Next Time~)


	12. To Each Their Own

What up, Fandom!? We're going to cut the notes for now, and get to Chapter 12! Enjoy

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**Chapter 12: To Each Their Own**

"He was… powerful. The magic which he called 'Black Angel' was said to be able to massacre entire cities in the blink of an eye." Jeremiah lay on the ground, perfectly still. He had lost a lot of blood, and he could feel his vision beginning to fail him.

But Erza didn't give up.

"Stop talking, dammit!" She had somehow managed to get on her knees and crawl to his side. "If you die, then you won't be able to repent for your mistakes!"

"Why are you doing this, Erza Scarlet?"

"Because your soul is not tainted by evil! I know; you and Jellal are the same. He made mistakes in his life too, but even so, he wants to wipe his slate clean." Jeremiah moved his eyes to look into hers as tears began flowing from her eyes. "Jellal lost his memories. He doesn't remember anything about what he's done or why he's done it. But his soul… it's safe now."

"What would you have me do? Erase my own memories and start anew?"

"That's not what I'm saying! Even Jellal, who betrayed and killed his own friend, who's whole life was a lie, who couldn't even save a little girl from losing her eye and fell to Zeref's power… He could turn his life around in the end. So you can too, dammit!"

_'She really does care for people… doesn't she? Jellal.'_

-Natsu, Grey, and the Girls-

"Natsu… What are you…"

"Please, Lisanna." It was silent. The four stood in a random hallway inside the guild hall of Devil's Requiem. By this time, all of the minor wizards who had regained consciousness had fled, and the rest were still lying on the floor. Team Natsu had successfully taken out the dark guild.

Now, there was only one person left. And Natsu had to make a decision.

"Natsu… I can't…" She had tears in her eyes, and her hand covered her mouth. She took a step back and stared at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer. "You know I can't."

"I'm not going to argue with you, Lisanna." Natsu didn't look at her. He only stood, facing away from the other three and stared down the empty hallway. "I don't want to see you get hurt again." Grey and Juvia remained quiet. Neither of them knew exactly what to say at that point.

"But why you? Why do you have to go alone!?"

"Because I'm the only one who can stop him!"

"Lisanna, please understand. That guy has Lucy and Happy, Wendy and Carla too. Somebody has to go help them and somebody has to go stop Osmond. I haven't fully recovered yet, so I won't stand a chance against that guy a second time."

"But why can't-"

"LISANNA!" He cut her off. From where she stood, she could tell he was clenching his teeth. He didn't want to do this as much as she didn't want him to. "Please. Go find Erza and go back to Fairy Tail with Juvia."

"Natsu…"

"Please." He felt arms wrap around his sides from the back and lock tightly around his waist. On his back, he could feel the head of his friend, who was sobbing. "I'll come back."

"You always do… right?" Lisanna felt Grey grab her shoulder, and he nodded the opposite direction that Natsu was facing, prompting her to follow him and Juvia. _'You have to… be safe.'_ She turned away from him and followed behind the water and ice mages, leaving Natsu standing there by himself.

"Be safe. Lisanna."

And so, the Dragon Slayer ran the opposite way.

-Natsu's Path-

It had been almost ten minutes, and Natsu hadn't found anything. He was beginning to get agitated.

"Dammit!" His hand sparked with flames and he threw his fist through a wall, making it crumble beneath the sheer power. As the wall fell apart, he only kept running. "Where are you, you creepy bastard?" Natsu was looking for one thing, and one thing alone.

He wasn't stopping for anything. Since no one dared to get in his way anymore, his path was clear. He had already mercilessly beaten every last member of the dark guild Devil's Requiem, and only one person remained. That person was the thing he was looking for.

Osmond Denwald.

Natsu wasn't sure how he was going to fight this man, but he had to. While Grey went to rescue Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla; while Erza got Lisanna and Juvia safely back to Fairy Tail; he was going to put an end to it.

_'That guy is crazy strong, and on top of that he can stop me from using magic altogether. How am I supposed to beat someone like that?'_ "AHHHHH! What am I gonna do!? That guy is too powerful! How am I supposed to beat someone who can drain my magic!"

Natsu had snapped. He was now running in a circle in the wide hallway screaming at the top of his lungs. It was quite the funny sight. But, a voice stopped him.

"Natsu."

-Grey's Path-

Grey had already separated from Lisanna and Juvia, and was now heading up a large staircase he had found. According to Natsu, the rest of the team that came in to rescue the girls were high up in the guild hall, possibly at on the top floor.

Knowing this, Grey found as many steps going up as he could. This was the fourth staircase, and it was starting to get boring.

"Natsu's already cleared out this entire place. Man… this sucks. I was hoping there would be some more guys to fight." He hadn't been able to fight a lot of the wizards since Natsu had gone on a rampage and took out at least three quarters of the guild single handedly. "Is it just me… or did the temperature just drop? Oh well, not like it bothers me any; I like the cold, after all."

He didn't know it, but Grey had just stripped.

-Devil's Requiem Guild Hall Entrance-

Erza watched as the red-haired man in front of her breathed slowly. His life was slowly leaving his body, and his pupils were beginning to fade out. Soon, he would fall unconscious and most likely wouldn't wake up. He said it was inevitable, but she didn't give up.

"I told you that it's futile."

"Quiet." He looked at her with disinterest as she bandaged his hand. She had somehow managed to stand and even walked all the way down to the carriage that Team Natsu came in on to grab a first aid kit. It was unthinkable. She shouldn't have even been able to move, let alone walk like she was normal.

He watched her as she worked, wrapping the white cloth around the multiple wounds she had inflicted on him with her own two hands. She had managed to get him up and bandage his mid-section, as well as his head.

_'Amazing. She found all this power because she wanted to help a man like me? Fairy Tail… really is full of idiots, isn't it?'_ Even while thinking this, he didn't stop her. He probably couldn't have even if he wanted to. He didn't have much will power left at all.

"Tell me something."

"Huh?"

"Why is this happening to you now? Is he killing you?" Jeremiah shook his head and sighed heavily.

"I told you. It's my own fault, and it's a long story."

"As you might have guessed, I have all day."

"Okay then…"

_It happened after my fight with him, that he told me what he was. When I awoke in that forest, I felt pain all over my body; I couldn't even twitch. I didn't have the strength to stand, so I just sat there, leaning back against a tree. I must have been there for days._

_"Ah, I didn't think you'd be awake yet." He approached me wearing that leather cloak-like jacket and those freaky pants. It wasn't what he had been wearing before, but I really didn't care._

_"You bastard! What did you do to me!?" I hadn't eaten in days, maybe even weeks, but I shouted at him with all my might. I wasn't happy to see him._

_He told me his name, his magic, his skills, his past… almost everything there was to know about him. I didn't understand why he was telling me all of it, but I listened. After he was done, he put a hand to my forehead._

_When I asked what he was doing he only smiled. Then… I died._

_I was a corpse, lying amongst the leaves in an unknown forest. The man that had killed me, then used his magic on me again._

_He called it… Black Angel. Magic which gave the caster the power of God's faithful servants. As the Angel of Death, he had control over the lives of people he killed. When he stole a life, he could control a new spirit._

_"What have you… done to me?"_

_"Simple. I've made you immortal. By sucking your soul out of your body, I was able to make it tougher, more powerful. And then I simply 'Pop!'… Right back in your pathetic body."_

_"You…"_

_"However… I could easily take your soul right back out, and crush it with a glare. So… If you wish to live. Follow me to the ends of the Earth." _

"And that was all there was to it."

"Then… you're dying because…"

"Because of my own stupidity. My soul isn't my own, it's a lie. My existence is false, and my life is forfeit. If I hadn't had a fear of death, I would have rejected this soul a long time ago. This is simply the price I'm paying for keeping my immortality for so long."

"Then what do I have to do!?" Jeremiah jumped at her sudden outburst. "Tell me what I need to do so that you stay alive!"

"Why are you so concerned with this?"

"Don't be a fool! I told you that you're going to live, dammit! You will live and repent for the things you have done! I told him the same thing when he was so willingly ready to give his own life. So, just like him… you're going to live

"…"

"Erza!" Erza's eyes widened as she heard the bright, happy voice behind her. She turned quickly to see her two fellow Fairy Tail wizards running towards her.

"Lisanna! Juvia!" As Lisanna neared her she jumped, prompting Erza to catch her in her arms and swing her around once. After that swing, she set her down as Juvia ran up to where they were. "Wait… Where did Natsu and Grey run off to?" Lisanna smiled, though it looked like she had been crying.

"Don't worry. Grey went to find Happy and the others. Natsu… Natsu went to find Osmond."

"What? No…" They all three looked down in shock at the source of the voice to see the red-haired wizard with a devastated look on his face. "You have to stop him!"

"Eh? Why?" Jeremiah managed to inadvertently lift his arm and placed his hand over his face.

"You people… you don't understand what Osmond is capable of! The Black Angel will render all power below the level of God useless, and Natsu Dragneel won't stand a chance! There are a select few magic powers that can overcome it, but Dragon Slayer magic is _not_ one of them!"

"So… Natsu doesn't have a good chance of winning this thing?"

"Juvia is worried about Grey-sama, too…" _'Grey-sama is going to the aid of that woman now… DON'T STEAL JUVIA'S PRINCE!'_ Though it _really_ wasn't the time for those thoughts, Juvia is Juvia, and she's crazy.

"I'm afraid not… Salamander is powerful, but Osmond is a veritable God. He won't be beaten easily."

"Jeremiah." The dark wizard looked up at Erza, who was glowing with a bright, yellow light.

"You FOOL! What are you doing!?" Before he could even finish, the light surrounding her shattered outwards, and Erza had Requipped into a simple cloth outfit. She wore no shirt, but her breasts were covered by several layers of bandage-like cloth. Her pants were red, with a flame design near the bottom of the legs.

"Tell me where he is." Jeremiah began to laugh, gaining only surprised looks from Lisanna and Juvia. Erza, however, didn't change her expression.

"You have got to be joking. How much power can you possibly have left, Erza? Osmond wouldn't even need to use Disruption to drain you."

"I asked you a question."

"Uh…" Lisanna and Juvia grabbed each other's hands and backed away slowly from the woman with the evil glare. Erza wasn't joking around, and they knew that very well. _'She… She's a monster…'_ Jeremiah let his arm fall back to the ground and smiled. "Very well… Erza Scarlet."

-Following Natsu-

The Dragon Slayer with pink hair continued down the hallway, tightly clutching his right hand. There was no longer anything in his way. The dark wizards had all cleared out of the guild hall one way or another by that time, and he could only smell one person.

The smell was familiar, and made Natsu's mouth go into a wide smile.

"I'm coming for you. Osmond Denwald."

-Outside the Devil's Requiem Guild Hall-

"Here we go…" Lisanna gently layed the dark wizard with red-hair down upon the back seat of a small, wooden carriage. "Are you comfortable?" He merely nodded without looking at her. "Okay th- Wait… You don't get motion sickness do you?"

This time, he glanced over at the white-haired Take Over mage with wide eyes.

"Uh… No. I don't."

"Well that's good. Just hang tight, okay? Try and get some rest." Jeremiah nodded again as Lisanna shut the door and walked around to the front of the carriage.

"Is he all good?"

"Mm. He should be fine. Come on." Lisanna held out a hand, prompting Juvia to reach out her own and grab with. With a great pull, the Water mage picked her up into the passenger seat of the carriage.

"They'll be fine… won't they?" Lisanna only smiled and nodded with a slight blush on her face.

"Natsu promised me. He told me he'd come back."

-The Hallways of Devil's Requiem-

_"If you go to the third floor, and go all the way to the back, there will be a staircase going to a special room on the floor we're on now. He will be there. Salamander probably will be, too"_

Erza ran down the hallway in her armorless armor and smiled.

_"And… If you wish to save me… Then you must reverse his own magic flow. He has control not only over my soul, but over most of the souls from the people in Devil's Requiem. Destroying his magic will send them back to us, and make us mortals again."_

"Don't worry. Natsu and I both have something to fight for now. We will stop him."

-A Hidden Room in the Guild Hall-

"Damn him…. DAMN THAT SPIRIT!" Osmond clutched his chest while breathing heavily. He had wounds all over his body, and his head had a large cut, making blood drip down his face. It was the first time he ever had the need to flee from an opponent. "I'll kill him… I'LL KILL THEM ALL!"

He began to explode with power, making another mist that destroyed everything around him. The only thing that survived the blast was the floors and walls, as well as the ceiling. He began seething with anger and hatred.

But before he could do anything else…

"Found you!" A voice came from behind the door to the massive room, and without warning, a large blast of fire shot through it. It knocked the door straight off the wall and it flew through the air, landing only a few feet away from the now smiling wizard. "You're one sneaky guy, you know that?"

"Natsu Dragneel…"

"How's it goin, dark wizard?" Natsu's body began to spark, and then exploded with fire. "How about we cut the crap and get right to it?"

Without warning, Natsu jumped forward with all of his strength, and swung his fist towards the dark wizard.

* * *

Oh. SNAP. Natsu found you, creep wagon.

Next week, we'll be finding out who that mysterios voice who spoke to Natsu was, and see Natsu's all out fight with the leader of Devil's Requiem. May the Flames of Regret... consume your souls, Fandom. Until Next Time~


	13. Flames of Regret Consume My Soul

EARLY UPDATE. I couldn't help myself, Fandom! I had to write this! T'was amazing... The words flowed from my brain to my fingers, my fingers to the keys, the keys into the document! It was beautiful! So, here you go, Fandom! Chapter 13. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Flames of Regret… Consume My Soul**

The soft footsteps that came from below the wizard with black hair echoed throughout the wide corridors of the guild hall. He had been running for a good ten minutes, and he had already gone up at least eight flights of stairs.

"Holy hell! Just how big is this place!?" He stopped to catch his breath by bending over and placing his hands on his knees. His began to suck in a lot of air and breath it back out. "Was it enlarged from the inside with magic?"

"H-h-hol…" Grey heard a voice coming from behind him, and he turned around slowly to find out who it was.

"Huh?" His eyes fell upon a scrawny looking wizard holding a knife in both hands. His body was shaking and his eyes were wide. Grey could tell he was afraid.

"Ho-Hold it right there… I can't… let you go any farther!"

"Is that so…" Grey didn't even show the slightest amount of worry facing the man. He looked him up and down. The scrawny wizard wore simple black jeans and a black shirt with no sleeves. His head had a cloth cap on it that resembled a bag.

Then… Grey saw what he was looking for.

"I-I've been sent to stop you… by any means…!" Grey smiled and did a full 180 spin to face him directly.

"Really now!?" His gaze didn't leave the man's right shoulder. Situated on it, was a red tattoo. It was a skull with two crossed swords going through it. The symbol of Devil's Requiem. "Okay, dark wizard. Bring it on."

"G… AAAAAHHHH!" The man rushed him, putting the knife outwards and putting his head down. As he neared, Grey through his hands back. Cupping one on the other, blue mist began to form around his fists.

"Ice Make…" He threw them forward as the man's knife came closer. "IMPACT!" The ground shook violently, and the man was thrown off his balance. As he fell, the knife fell to the ground with him. He now stared up at Grey with an immense amount of fear. "Now… Tell me where your captives are."

"Stay back! Please…!"

"Relax, scrawny. I'm not one to kill weak punks like you."

"No…" He man fell to his hands and knees and stared at the ground. He ignored Grey entirely. "I can't… I can't lose here! I CAN'T!" He threw his head up and charged Grey again. As his fist came flying towards his face, Grey could see tears in his eyes.

"Okay…" Grey simply stepped away and turned his body away from the incoming fist, and then grabbed the man's wrist tightly. "What's wrong with you?"

"No… It's coming…! NO!"

"Calm down! UH!" Grey watched in shock as the man whose wrist he held turned to him in horror. His entire body began to pale over, and his eyes began to blank out. "HEY! What's wrong with you!"

"No. Why…? Lord Os… mond…" His body lost the ability to stand, and he went limp. Grey let go in shock to see the dead man fall to the ground with a considerably loud thud.

"Oi… What the hell is… going on?"

-With Natsu and Osmond-

"50 Caliber, SOUL CANNON!" Osmond threw one arm forward and gripped his forearm with the other hand. As he did, a red mist swirled around his palm and then shot out like a bolt of lightning. It flew towards Natsu swiftly, and he reacted instantly.

"Fire Dragon… CRUSHING FANG!" His entire arm arced as his hand burst with fire. As it came around to the front, he punched the red beam as flames trailed behind his fingers. As the attacks made contact, each one exploded and rendered the other useless.

"Come now, Natsu Dragneel." Osmond spoke as he floated in the air. There was a massive pair of black wings on his back, spinning like tornados. They took the form of Angel wings. "It is all you can do to counter! You can't get an attack off on me!"

"QUIET!" Natsu cupped his hands at the remark and began sucking in air. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" The breath attack made of flames shot out of his mouth and flew at Osmond, who simply held up two fingers and brushed his hand to the side.

With that one movement, the attack dispersed into nothing.

"I haven't even set up a Disruption Field yet. Do you really think you're going to do better without magic!? AHHHH!?" With a sadistic smile, the dark wizard made a fist in the same hand and swung it back the other way.

Natsu got ready to dodge as a massive form of blackness came forth from Osmond's fist and shot like a rocket towards him. Natsu immediately jumped to the side, intending to do a roll to catch his balance, but the attack was too fast. It collided with him head on, and he was sent flying backwards.

As he stopped his own momentum, he cupped his hand again. But before he could send another breath attack, Osmond was clutching his forearm again.

Natsu began to suck in air, and Osmond collected another soul in his palm. The air moved into Natsu's lungs, and a red mist swirled in front of Osmond's hand. Natsu moved his cupped hands, and Osmond gripped his forearm tighter.

"50 CALIBER SOUL CANNON!"

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

The two beam-like attacks collided midway to their respective targets, and didn't move. Both of them continued to unleash their ranged attacks, impeding the other's movements. Neither of them made any progress and couldn't overpower the other. However…

With a grunt for air, Natsu's roar ended, and the red beam fired into his chest. It sent him back even farther, but he didn't waver with his own balance. _'Damn… We're evenly matched in terms of power… But I can't spit flames infinitely! He can keep his attack going for longer than I can…'_

"Natsu Dragneel. Give up. This is very boring for me." Natsu clicked his tongue and stared up at the dark wizard floating above him.

"What was that!?"

"I would have a lot more fun just tearing you limb from limb. So… GIVE UP AND DIE!" He brushed his hand to the side, and then brought it back the other way. As his arm pointed directly and Natsu, he stopped. With two fingers pointed at the Dragon Slayer, he spoke the spell. "Explosion."

Natsu felt his body go numb, and then his blood began to pulse. And then…

"GAAAAAAHHHH!" He let an immense scream as the inside of his body felt like it was going to implode. An intense pain covered his entire body, and he fell to his hands and knees.

Osmond only chuckled, and the wings behind him dispersed with a pop. With nothing to keep him up, he fell to the floor. His feet hitting the ground made a noise that echoed through the massive room.

"How did it feel to have you're magic turned against you?" He smiled and began to walk towards the downed Dragon Slayer. "They say… that magic resides in the blood. But I don't think that's true. Magic has its own flow that runs course through or bodies. Not like it matters either way, though. I can make it pop, no problem."

He now stood at Natsu's side and stared at his back with a sadistic grin. With a grunt, he swung his foot forward and kicked the pink-haired wizard directly in the gut.

Natsu let out a small wince of pain as he was sent tumbling across the floor. Osmond only frowned and held out two fingers once more.

"Explode." Natsu began to writhe in pain as his magic exploded inside of his body. "Burn." Osmond swung his hand to the side, and Natsu began to slightly roll back and forth upon the ground. The dark wizard's eyes went wide to match his smile. "Extinguish! Impaction! Explode! Erupt!"

With each word, Osmond swung his entire arm around, and Natsu's body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. The dark wizard was directly attacking his magic. And with such vast reserves, there was a lot to damage him with.

"Do you honestly think," he swung his hand around, and Natsu writhed in pain, "that you could beat me!" The actions repeated themselves. "I AM A GOD, NASTU DRAGNEEL!" Again. "I'M ALL POWERFUL!" Again. "I am… UNDEFEATABLE!" Again, and again, and again, he swung his arm back and forth, and Natsu's body lurched and rolled in the immense pain.

At last, after about four entire minutes, he stopped his arm from swinging. Natsu's body was covered in bruises, and Osmond began to breathe heavily. He stared down upon the Dragon Slayer in disgust.

"Natsu Dragneel… The 'son' of Igneel. You've made a mockery of my undead army, and now I shall destroy you." He swung his arm around once more, and said one simple word. "Disrupt."

With that, Natsu's body went limp.

-Halls of Devil's Requiem-

It was horrific. The entire hallway was filled with that horrifying sight that made the red-haired Requip mage struck with anger.

"They're… everywhere."

That horrific sight, was the vast number of wizards that had been defeated by the efforts of Natsu and Grey. What should have been a simple mass beating, had turned into a graveyard.

All around her, the ones that didn't have the good fortune to wake up and run away, were paled out and motionless. The ones who sat up against walls, or layed on their backs against the floor, had white eyes. There was no amount of life left in most of the bodies.

_'This is his magic…'_

_"Black Angel magic is just like how it sounds. The Black Angel is the Angel of Death, and Osmond wields that power… the power of the Grim Reaper himself."_

_"What is the basis of it?"_

As the conversation replayed in Erza's mind she ran down to hallway, keeping her gaze forward. She didn't want to see the bodies, and she tried to ignore the ones who were alive. There was nothing she could do for them unless she found Osmond.

_"He combined it with Seith magic. It allows Osmond to control souls, but not exactly like Human Possession. With Human Possession, the souls have to be inside of something; with Black Angel, he has direct control over them. If he so desires, he can suck a soul out of a body, and reinforce it with magic. He can store it in his own body and merge with it to gain power. He can stick it inside a dead man like me and give him life. Or he can steal those same souls, and convert them into energy."_

_"But he only has control over souls that he's taken himself."_

_"Yes… Osmond can't simply pluck souls from graves like somebody with Human Possession could do. He has to take the life himself. But at this point… it doesn't matter. He's massacred entire towns, hundreds of innocent people. He can even take animal souls. He's acquired at least three hundred souls, and over half of them are inside this building now."_

_"And all I have to do… is beat him?"_

_"No… he absolutely must be killed. Killing Osmond will result in a power fluctuation within his soul storage, and they will all be released and returned to their rightful owners. There is no saving the dead ones… but they will be at peace knowing that his life is forfeit, and that their own souls have returned."_

Erza clenched her fists as she ran. She could feel the ponytail of her hair brushing against her bare back with every step. The soles of her feet smashed into the ground, and her arms moved constantly as she ran. There was one last thought in her head.

_'I will save all of you. I won't let anybody else suffer.'_

-With Natsu and Osmond-

The dark wizard stood only ten feet away from the unmoving body of the Dragon Slayer. Bruises covered Natsu's entire body, but Osmond was untouched. Despite the amount of injuries he had suffered, however, Natsu was still conscious.

"This fight is over, Fairy. I've blasted your magic power twenty different ways, and have infected you with my Angel Seeds. Even someone with the amount of magic you possess couldn't move after all that." He began to walk towards the injured wizard. "Rest assured. Though your life is forfeit, your soul will become a part of my body."

"Like hell…" Much to Osmond's surprise, Natsu began to force himself upwards. "Like hell I'd ever let you have control over any souls…"

"Why do you intend to get beaten to death?"

"I made a promise, dammit! I won't let her…"

"Hmm?"

"I was too weak… I couldn't protect her. When Elfman and Mira came back and told me what happened… I was devastated…"

Osmond stood, still a good bit away from Natsu, and grunted. It seemed he wasn't paying attention to the Dragon Slayer

"For the first time since Igneel left… I cried. She was the only one who helped me in my time of need… And I wasn't there to protect her in her last hours."

Osmond began to life arm into the air, and let his open palm face Natsu.

"Then… she came back to us. Thanks to what happened in Edolas, she was finally able to come home."

"50 Caliber." A thick, red smoke began swirling around in the dark wizard's palm.

"And I was with her… I was there, dammit! I still couldn't protect her. I was too weak to save her… So what would've happened if I went with them when she died? Would I have died instead?"

The mist kept swirling, growing large with every passing second.

"Erza taught me… That you don't die for your friends; you live for them. So I don't feel pain at not protecting her then. I couldn't let her think she was the reason I died. So I don't know if I should've gone then, but…" Natsu's voice changed, and his body began to exert magical power.

"SOUL CANNON!" The red mist formed into a large beam of light that went straight for Natsu's body.

"I WILL PROTECT HER AS LONG AS SHE'S HERE DAMMIT!" He stood, miraculously stood, and arced his fist around the air as it exploded with an intensely bright, orange flame. His flaming fist collided with the Soul Cannon, and reversed the attack.

"WHAT!?" Osmond didn't even have time to make a facial expression as the laser-like attack he shot from his own palm became surrounded by flames, and changed directions to blast him in the chest. "GAAHHH!" _'Why!? WHY CAN HE USE MAGIC!?'_

"Prepare yourself, dark wizard!" Natsu took one step and threw himself forward. "BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BREAK YOU IN HALF!" He swung his fist backwards. "FIRE DRAGON'S CRUSHING FANG!" It flew around, and made contact with Osmond's face.

The resulting impact knocked the dark wizard through the air, at least 30 feet backwards. But Natsu didn't let the stop him. He immediately charged towards him, and reached his still flying body in a split second.

"FIRE DRAGON JACKHAMMER!" Natsu squeezed his own hands together, and threw both of them into his opponent's gut. Blood flew from his mouth as he crashed into the ground. His body cratered the floor. "FIRE DRAGON… ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!"

The breath attack collided with Osmond's chest, and he began to sink even further into the ground. Eventually, the fire exploded around him, and covered the entire crater his body had previously made. The flames then shot his body directly through the floor, and followed him until he hit the floor below.

"FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!" Natsu jumped through the massive hole in the floor he had created while his arms ignited. As he fell head first towards the already beaten wizard, he swung the flames forward, resulting in another explosion when they reached him.

"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Crimson Lotus…"

Natsu's fists exploded with long streams of fire. As he moved his arms in a long, circular arc, those flames shot towards the ground like rockets. They spiraled around each other, and formed into one massive attack.

"EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!"

The intensely bright fire smashed into Osmond's body and immediately exploded over and over again. The cluster bomb of an attack blew away an area of at least fifty meters around the dark wizard. His body didn't move; he couldn't move.

He could only watch as Natsu landed on the ground mere feet away from him. He only watched him in horror.

"How… How can you use magic…? Dragon's aren't on the level…"

"Oh yeah… A little birdie told me all about you're disgusting magic." Natsu's expression was a happy grin as he clenched his right fist and showed Osmond the object around his finger. "Grandpa Crux sure is helpful, ain't he?"

The object… was a simple ring. It was bronze, and had a tiny silver gem in the center. It seemed to glow with a faint yellow light.

It was one the Rings of Regulus.

_"Natsu…"_

_"… Loke?"_

_"I have something to tell you…"_

Natsu's expression changed to a frown again.

"You know… Don't you think it was bad enough that you hurt the girl I love? Did you really have to go and injure my Nakama, too?"

"QUIET FAIRY! I WILL CRUSH YOUR PATHETIC LIVES!" Natsu's expression didn't change. He only walked to the unmoving man's side and grabbed the neck of his shirt.

"Listen, pal. I don't know if anybody has ever told you…" He jerked the man upwards, forcing him to stand. "But you've made an enemy out of the worst possible people in the world to piss off. Members of Fairy Tail… We fight for our friends. We gain the ability to overcome obstacles our powers can't break through with our feelings."

"Damn you…"

"So… let me remind you. And make sure you never forget it…"

_'Is this… the power of the Salamander? No… this is the power of Fairy Tail…'_

Natsu swung his free hand back, and didn't even bother to ignite it in flames.

"DON'T FUCK…" Natsu began to swing his fist forward. "WITH FAIRY TAIL!" The simple punch collided with Osmond's face at a high speed, and Natsu let his grip on the man's shirt go at the same time. The impact sent him into the floor.

Without a sound, Osmond Denwald collapsed, and didn't get back up.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Natsu threw his hands back and let out an ear-drum piercing roar to the sky.

* * *

(Side Note: Go Back To Where Natsu Says "Erza taught me..." And Play This As You Read! - watch?v=-1ZTS7HT2uw-) Go, T'is Amazing! No Joke.)

So there we have it, Fandom. Epicness in a can, er... In a story... YES. Osmond has been defeated, and now things are wrapping up! Until Next Time~

(Side Note 2: What's Erza going to do? o_O)


End file.
